Women leading linguistic change: sociolinguistic reflexes of modernization in multilingual societies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/TheLinguisticProceedings/2025/17/02/007/000693Keywords:
gender, sociophonetics, Arabic, multilingualism, language changeAbstract
This paper examines gendered patterns of linguistic variation and change in a multilingual society, focusing on Arabic speakers in the Israeli-Palestinian city of Taibeh. Drawing on sociophonetic data from 30 stratified interviews, reading tasks, and spontaneous speech recordings, the study analyzes how women and men differently negotiate phonological variation under conditions of modernization and sustained contact with Hebrew and English. Particular attention is given to the realization of /q/ and /ʕ/, as well as patterns of code-switching and lexical borrowing. The findings show that younger, educated women lead the adoption of urban prestige variants and engage in strategic crosslinguistic practices associated with mobility and professional identity, while older male speakers favor conservative forms linked to local solidarity. These results highlight gender as a central driver of language change in multilingual settings.References
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