Phonological Variation and Social Stratification: Evidence from Urban Speech Communities
Downloads
Background. Phonological variation is a crucial aspect of sociolinguistics, reflecting social hierarchies, identities, and group affiliations within speech communities. Urban areas, characterized by diverse populations and socio-economic stratification, provide an ideal context for studying how phonological features correlate with social class, ethnicity, and other social variables. Understanding the relationship between phonological variation and social stratification offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of language use in multicultural and urban settings.
Purpose. This study aims to explore how phonological variation manifests in urban speech communities and its connection to social stratification. By examining specific phonological features and their distribution across different social groups, the research seeks to uncover patterns of linguistic differentiation and their relationship to social factors such as class, education, and ethnicity.
Method. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining quantitative acoustic analysis of speech samples with qualitative interviews from a range of socio-economic groups in an urban area. Data was collected from spontaneous conversations, interviews, and public speeches to ensure a broad representation of speech patterns.
Results. The study reveals significant phonological variation across social strata, with certain phonetic features strongly correlating with higher social status and education levels. Variations in vowel and consonant pronunciation were notably influenced by social class and ethnic background.
Conclusion. This research highlights the role of phonological variation in signaling social identity and reinforces the connection between language and social stratification in urban settings.
Aboh, S. C. (2023). Attitudes towards Nigerian Englishes: Ethnic categorisation and underlying reasons for categorisation. Lingua, 295, 103608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2023.103608
al-Qenaie, S. D., & Naser, M. B. (2023). Mapping sounds in the commercial linguistic landscape of Kuwait: A workable solution. Ampersand, 10, 100120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2023.100120
Bauer, E., & Sánchez, L. (2024). “I Have Magic in My Mouf!”: Embodied languaging enactments of African American multilingual students in a Spanish-English immersion program. Linguistics and Education, 83, 101339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2024.101339
Bella, B. R. F., Mayasari, A. D., & Alfina, A. (2024). Etiquette and Protocol in Public Relations Activities. Humanities Research Sustainability, 1(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.70177/jhrs.v1i1.1002
Brown, J., & Sonderegger, M. (2025). A sociophonetic study of creaky voice across language, gender and age in Canadian English-French bilinguals. Journal of Phonetics, 112, 101431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2025.101431
Calder, J. (2024). ‘Harsh’ SoMa vs ‘Beige’ Castro: The cross-modal construction of contrasting femininities in queer San Francisco. Language & Communication, 99, 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2024.09.003
de Jesus, F. L., Bellavance, S. R., & Nycz, J. (2024). Claims and contests: On the epistemic negotiation of place identity. Language & Communication, 95, 42–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2024.01.003
Doreleijers, K., Cornips, L., & Swanenberg, J. (2025). Youth Language Practices in Europe. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01283-7
Farros, A. A., Wijayanti, I., & Agustiar, A. (2024). Meaning Recognition Terms in Arabic Semantic Studies. Humanities Research Sustainability, 1(1), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.70177/jhrs.v1i1.907
Fuchs, R., Yao, X., Collins, P., & Smith, A. (2025). Non-standard morphosyntactic variation in L2 English varieties world-wide: A corpus-based study. Lingua, 322, 103948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103948
Gal, S. (2025). Linguistic Anthropology and Sociolinguistics. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.00611-6
Gerwin, J. (2024). ‘Learn Jafaikan in two minutes’ – Multicultural London English, enregisterment and ideology in English newspapers. Language & Communication, 97, 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2024.04.002
Giannakis, G. K. (2025). Historical Linguistics and Philology. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01040-1
Gordon, C. (2026). Sociolinguistics. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01049-8
Guerini, F. (2024). Dialectology. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.00042-9
Horn, L. R. (2025). The stigma enigma: When the personal (dative) is political. Journal of Pragmatics, 246, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2025.06.006
Jia, Y. (2024). The English politeness marker please in Chinese. Journal of Pragmatics, 230, 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2024.07.003
Kendall, T., Pharao, N., Stuart-Smith, J., & Vaughn, C. (2023). Advancements of phonetics in the 21st century: Theoretical issues in sociophonetics. Journal of Phonetics, 98, 101226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2023.101226
Li, S., Noordin, N., & Wang, D. (2025). Communication Barriers, Emotional Distress and Mental Health Promotion in Cancer Care: Insights from Rural China. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 27(11), 1797–1812. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.072301
Mahmudi, mahmudi, & Khoiruddin, M. A. (2024). Improving Student Life Skills Through the Ma Plus Skills Program at MAN 4 Kediri. Humanities Research Sustainability, 1(1), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.70177/jhrs.v1i1.995
Muqit, F. A., & Putra, A. W. (2024). Delving Into Existential Fatigue and The Search for Meaning in The Play “kapai-kapai” by Arifin C. Noer. Humanities Research Sustainability, 1(1), 34–40. https://doi.org/10.70177/jhrs.v1i1.929
Nikolsky, A., & Benítez-Burraco, A. (2024). The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: A new model. Physics of Life Reviews, 51, 114–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2023.11.016
Nortier, J., & Dorleijn, M. (2025). Youth Languages. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01220-5
Oxbury, R., Hunt, M., & McCarthy, K. M. (2025). The acquisition of Multicultural London English: Child and adolescent diphthong variation in West London. Journal of Phonetics, 109, 101388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2024.101388
Papin, S., & González-Montesino, R. H. (2025). CODA’s heritage sign language in Spain. Ampersand, 15, 100232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2025.100232
Peiró-Lilja, A., Armentano-Oller, C., Giraldo, J., Elvira-García, W., Esquerra, I., Zevallos, R., España-Bonet, C., Llopart-Font, M., Külebi, B., & Farrús, M. (2026). LaFresCat: A Studio-quality Catalan multi-accent speech dataset for text-to-speech synthesis. Computer Speech & Language, 101945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csl.2026.101945
Perez-Arredondo, C., Avello, D., & Cárcamo-Ulloa, L. (2025). A multimodal discursive approach to translanguaging and identity in Chilean social media. Discourse, Context & Media, 68, 100951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2025.100951
Prinsloo, M., & Krause-Alzaidi, L.-S. (2023). Culture and literacy: Situated social literacies. Dalam R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi, & K. Ercikan (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education (Fourth Edition) (hlm. 296–307). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818630-5.07016-0
Rosemberg, C. R., Ojea, G., Alam, F., Garber, L., Stein, A., De Benedictis, C., Jackson-Maldonado †, D., & Friend, M. (2024). Assessment of vocabulary comprehension in Bilingual Qom—Spanish Indigenous children in Northern Argentina: Evidence for education, language preservation, and psycholinguistic theory. Cognitive Development, 71, 101488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101488
Salam, N. E., Yasir, Y., Firdaus, M., Azwa, R., & Lubis, E. E. (2024). Tourism Communication Model in Developing Heritage City Tourism in Siak Sri Indrapura Regency, Riau, Indonesia. Humanities Research Sustainability, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.70177/jhrs.v1i1.876
Serditova, D., & Carmichael, K. (2025). Meet Me on Tomorrow by Your Mama’s House: A sociolinguistic investigation of phrasal constructions in New Orleans English. Lingua, 328, 104040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104040
Smitterberg, E. (2025). Stability in Language Change. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.00945-5
Terkourafi, M. (2026). The meanings of social meaning. Journal of Pragmatics, 253, 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.005
Turton, D., & Lennon, R. (2023). An acoustic analysis of rhoticity in Lancashire, England. Journal of Phonetics, 101, 101280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2023.101280
Xu, D., & Zhang, J. (2024). Speech Community. Dalam Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.00097-1
Copyright (c) 2026 Shaumiwaty Shaumiwaty, Nino Tsereteli, Aminata Ceesay
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
