The Effects of Social Variables of Age, Education and Gender on Metathesis Based on Variationist Sociolinguistics: A Case Study ‘Chokla’ in Hawrami Kurdish

Abstract

This research report presents a quantitative investigation into the impact of social variables including age, education and gender on a specific phonological variation (Metathesis in word [tʃoklæ]) in the Hawrami language, specifically the Paveh dialect. The study examines a group of 60 individuals (30 men and 30 women) across four different age groups, utilizing the variationist sociolinguistics framework. Data collected from the main group is compared to data gathered from a standard group of illiterate men and women over 60 years of age. The study focuses on metathesis of the word [tʃoklæ], which exhibits the most differences between the standard and main groups. The research findings indicate a significant relationship between age and gender variables and the phonological diversity under study. The level of education, however, does not show a significant relationship with the occurrence of the metathesis process in the word [tʃoklæ], as the rate of significance of the relationship is greater than 0.5 (α=0.683). Additionally, the results demonstrate that gender has a greater impact on the metathesis process in the word [tʃoklæ] than age.

Keywords

• variationist sociolinguistics
• phonological process
• metathesis
• hawrami kurdish