O objetivo deste trabalho é demonstrar que no conjunto de sua obra Serafim da Silva Neto (1917-1960) apresenta subsídios para a constituição de uma teoria sobre a variação e a mudança linguística, entre os anos 40 e 50 do século XX, portanto, 20 anos antes e independentemente dos estudos a que modernamente denominamos Sociolinguística, disciplina autônoma em que se investigam as relações da língua com a sociedade. Nossa tese é a de que Serafim da Silva Neto elaborou em sua obra conceitos relacionados à variação e à mudança linguística, tendo como referência as três áreas de investigação a que esteve ligado: a Filologia Românica; a Crítica Textual (edição de textos medievais portugueses) e o conhecimento de Gramáticas Antigas, tanto latinas como portuguesas. Neste sentido, o trabalho está dividido em cinco capítulos. No capítulo um tratamos de questões teórico-metodológicas adotadas. Do segundo ao quarto capítulos, organizamos o trabalho de forma a dar conhecimento a respeito dessas três áreas de atuação do filólogo carioca, apresentando os autores citados que mais contribuíram para a construção de conceitos variacionistas na sua obra. Com isso, procuramos explorar, na medida do possível, o horizonte de retrospecção de Silva Neto para, à luz da história, esclarecer como ele construiu seus conceitos a respeito da variação e mudança linguística. O quinto capítulo apresenta a aproximação entre Silva Neto, Hugo Schuchardt (1842-1927), linguista e romanista alemão, atuante no final do século XIX e início do XX, ostensivamente presente em seu horizonte de retrospecção, e William Labov (nascido em 1927), principal nome de articulação da Teoria da Variação Linguística, organizador da Sociolinguística, enquanto disciplina linguística e líder desse campo de pesquisa, para demonstrar que a proximidade de alguns conceitos teóricos presentes nas suas obras não é mero acaso. Embora temporal e espacialmente separados e filiados a correntes teóricas e metodológicas distintas, o trabalho desses autores contribui para a construção do conhecimento sobre a variação e mudança linguísticas, ainda que de forma não linear e assistemática, alcançando resultados significativos para o desenvolvimento das pesquisas nas ciências da linguagem, em diferentes campos de atuação. Buscamos, deste modo, estabelecer uma possível causalidade entre o pensamento crítico dos três autores, articulados por uma complexa rede de referências, incluindo aí Uriel Weinreich (1926-1967), em cuja obra poderíamos encontrar uma das possíveis explicações para a relação entre os autores apontados, embora ela não seja a única. Ao longo do trabalho, fazemos incursões pelos domínios da Gramaticografia portuguesa e latina, pela Crítica Textual, pela Filologia Românica, e pela Sociolinguística contemporânea, levantando subsídios que comprovem nossa tese. Discutem-se alguns conceitos linguísticos e gramaticais, analisados na perspectiva da dimensão temporal, isto é, na longa duração do tempo, o que o inscreve no contexto da História das Ideias Linguísticas, segundo o modelo de Sylvain Auroux (1992, 1998, 2006, 2008); Colombat (2007) e Colombat, Fournier e Puech (2010). / The aim of this study is to demonstrate that in his whole work, Serafim da Silva Neto presents data for the configuration of a theory of linguistic variation and change, between the years 40 and 50 of the 20th century, therefore 20 years before, and independently of the modern studies called Sociolinguistics, autonomous subject in which we investigate the relations between language and society. Our thesis is that Serafim da Silva Neto has developed, in his work, concepts related to linguistic variation and change, having as reference the three areas of research which he was connected to: Romance Philology; Textual Criticism (edition of Portuguese medieval texts) and the knowledge of Old Grammars such as Latin and Portuguese. In this sense, this work is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, we deal with adopted theoretical and methodological issues. From second to fifth chapters, we organize this work in order to inform about these three areas of the philologist action, with the aforementioned authors who contributed to the construction of variations concepts in his works studied in a way as to provide knowledge about these three areas of interest of the philologist from Rio de Janeiro. Thus, we have tried to exploit, as far as possible, the retrospective horizons of this author so that, in the light of history, be able to explain how he built his concepts about linguistic variation and change. The fifth chapter presents the approach between Silva Neto, Hugo Schuchardt (1842-1927), linguist and German Romanist, active in the late 19th century and early 20th century, noticeably present in his retrospective horizons, and William Labov (born in 1927), main name of the Theory of Language Variation and organizer of Sociolinguistics as a Linguistic discipline, to demonstrate that the proximity of some theoretical concepts presented in his works is no accident. Although temporally and spatially separated, and affiliated to different theoretical and methodological currents, the work of these authors contributes to the construction of knowledge about the language variation and change, albeit in a non-linear and unsystematic way, achieving significant results for the development of research in the sciences of language in different fields. We sought, therefore, to establish a possible causal link between the critical thinking of the three authors, joined by a complex network of references, including around Uriel Weinreich (1926-1967), in whose work it could find a possible explanation for the connection between the authors highlighted, although it is not the only one elucidation. Throughout this study, we have, therefore, done research about Latin-Portuguese Grammaticography, Textual Criticism, Romance Philology and Contemporary Sociolinguistics, in such a way as to shed light upon the whole of this complex issue and, consequently, raising data to prove our thesis. In this work, we discuss some linguistic and grammatical concepts, analyzed from the perspective of the temporal dimension, that is, in the long duration of time, which places it in the context of the History of Linguistic Ideas, following the model of Sylvain Auroux (1992, 1998, 2006, 2008); Colombat (2007) and Colombat, Fournier and Puech (2010).

Faroese is known to lie grammatically between Icelandic and the Mainland Scandinavian languages and dialects. One example of this is that, on the one hand, Faroese is like Icelandic in having a basically intact morphological four case system. On the other hand case-marking in Faroese is linked to clause function to a greater degree than in Icelandic – but to a lesser degree than in the Mainland Scandinavian standard languages. In Scandinavian Linguistics, it has long been an axiom that in the longer term the aforementioned four case system will be reduced in all varieties of the Scandinavian languages. The present thesis investigates if, and if so how, this expected development manifests itself in Senior High School graduation essays in Faroese from the period 1940–1999. A quantitative study forms the core of the thesis. The choice between the dative and other cases is related to eight syntactic variables whose effect on the choice of case is compared using methods from the variationist framework, among others. The results are partly surprising: the dative did not reduce in frequency from the 1940s to 1990s. There certainly is a tendency, however not a statistically significant one, that the dative is more often replaced by another case in contexts where the norm is to use the dative. On the other hand it also seems to become more common for the dative to be used hypercorrectly. Furthermore, the development is not linear, in that around the middle of the investigation period, the dative is used far more according to norms than otherwise. As expected, clause function is an important variable, but by the end of the period under investigation the placement of the nominal phrase within the clause becomes a surprisingly strong factor. It also becomes more important if the phrase takes the form of a first/second-person pronominal or not. The results are theoretically interpreted in the light of, firstly, Generative Grammar, and secondly Construction Grammar. The modification of certain terms is discussed, such as lexical case in Generative Grammar or usage-based model in Construction Grammar. The conclusion is that the linguistic descriptive models of these theories can only partly cover the tendencies to change that are observed. Other parts of the results are best explained using aspects of sociolinguistics. The conclusion is that case studies on a micro-level are valuable in order to evaluate and develop theories of linguistic variation and change at a macro-level.

En français contemporain, l’hésitation dans le choix entre être et avoir comme auxiliaire dans les formes verbale composées (par ex. le passé composé) de certains verbes intransitifs (par ex. tomber), surtout dans des variétés non standards du français, démonte clairement l’écart qui existe entre le français normé et le français oral quotidien. Cette hésitation, voire l’incertitude, dans le choix de l’auxiliaire n’est pas une particularité arbitraire ou aléatoire de la langue contemporaine; elle s’inscrit plutôt dans une tendance diachronique et pan-romane que l’on a pu observer dans la langue française depuis son émancipation du latin. Notre étude, qui se fonde sur la théorie de la grammaticalisation, propose une analyse du discours grammatical de 1500 – époque où sont apparues les premières grammaires du français – jusqu’à 1789 avec la Révolution française, signalant le moment où la langue se serait stabilisée et aurait adopté sa forme moderne. Nous divisons les trois siècles de notre étude en quatre périodes distinctes, déjà bien établies dans les études historiques. Ce sont : - Le XVIe siècle (1530-1599) - La première moitié de la période classique (1600-1650) - La deuxième moitié de la période classique (1651-1715) - Le Siècle des lumières (1716-1789) Pour chacune des quatre périodes, l’analyse se fait en trois temps. Premièrement, nous recensons les grammairiens, les lexicographes et les essayistes qui se sont prononcés, soit explicitement, soit implicitement, sur l’emploi des auxiliaires être et avoir dans les formes verbales composées (FVC). Nous identifions, là où cela est possible, le dialecte maternel de chaque auteur et son modèle d’usage. Deuxièmement, nous résumons les observations et les commentaires sur l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC formulés par chaque auteur, y compris les tentatives d’explication quant à la variation dans le choix de l’auxiliaire. Finalement, nous rapportons la description de l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC proposée par des historiens de la langue française pour la période en question. Notre étude nous permet de confirmer, en ce qui concerne les FVC, certaines tendances déjà reconnues dans la langue française et d’en identifier d’autres. Également, nous avons pu repérer, voire circonscrire des facteurs qui ont eu une influence sur le choix, tels les verbes plus sensibles à l’alternance, les grammairiens dont l’autorité s’est imposé plus que d’autres ou avant les autres dans l’établissement de la norme sur ce point, les contextes sociaux dans lesquels le débat a eu lieu et la période pendant laquelle les préoccupations sur ce choix était les plus intenses. / In contemporary French, the hesitation in the choice between être and avoir as an auxiliary verb in compound verb forms (i.e. the passé composé) of certain intransitive verbs (i.e. tomber), especially in non-standard varieties of French, clearly demonstrates the gap that exists between normative French and everyday spoken French. This hesitation, or uncertainty, in the choice of the auxiliary is not an arbitrary or random characteristics of contemporary French; it falls squarely within a diachronical and cross-Romance trend that can be observed in the French language since its emancipation from Latin. This study, which is based on Grammaticalisation Theory, is an analysis of grammatical discourse from 1500 - the era when the first grammars of French appeared - to 1789 and the French revolution, a period when the language is said to have been standardised and its modern form established. The three centuries that this study covers are divided into four distinct periods, already well established by previous historical studies. These periods are : - The 16th century (1530-1599) - The first half of the Classical Period (1600-1650) - The second half of the Classical Period (1651-1715) - The Enlightenment (1716-1789) For each of these four periods, there are three levels of analysis. First, we identify the grammarians, lexicographers and essayists who, explicitly or implicitly, express their views on the use of the auxiliaries avoir and être in compound verbs forms, as well as, where possible, their native dialect and the model of French (usage) they promote. Second, we summarize the observations and commentaries of each author on the choice of auxiliary in compound verb forms, including any attempts to explain the variation attested during the period. Finally, we look at the description, for each period, of the use of auxiliaries in compound verb forms put forward by historians of the French language. Our study has allowed us to confirm certain established trends related to auxiliary use in compound verb forms in French and to identify others. As well, we identify, or define, the factors that influence auxiliary selection, such as the verbs most likely to alternate between the two auxiliaries, the grammarians who had the greatest influence or who set the groundwork for establishing the norm for this grammatical point, the social contexts in which the grammatical debate took place and the periods during which the concern over auxiliary selection was the most intense.

La evolución de Lj latina hacia el fonema /x/ del español actual ha sido descrita con gran detalle en la bibliografía especializada en diacronía. Sin embargo, en ella no se aportan razones fonéticas que permitan entender el porqué de este cambio. Por este motivo, en el presente trabajo se ha acudido a las obras de Lindblom, Ohala o Blevins (entre otros), quienes defienden que el estudio de la variación fonética sincrónica permite una extrapolación a los datos antiguos y, por lo tanto, una aproximación y posible explicación de los procesos históricos. Así pues, con el objetivo de dar cuenta tanto de las razones del cambio como de su difusión, se ha partido del análisis fonético experimental del habla y de los datos obtenidos del estudio dialectal de /l/ y /ʎ/. Los resultados obtenidos permiten comprender cómo pudo producirse la evolución que ha llevado a la aparición del fonema /x/. / There has been plenty of papers which offered a description of the historical change from Lj in Latin to /x/ in current Spanish but most of them lack an explanation of its inner reasons. As a consequence, this investigation follows the theories held by authors like Lindblom, Ohala or Blevins, who suggest that the analysis of sinchronic phonetic variation may explain the nature of diachronic sound change. In order to account for the palatalization of the lateral sound in the last stages of Latin due to the arising of the glide and its evolution to /x/, we used empirical data from experimental phonetics and from dialectal studies. The combination of both makes possible to understand that the palatalization processes are attributable to inherent driving forces of the Spanish phonological system.

En français contemporain, l’hésitation dans le choix entre être et avoir comme auxiliaire dans les formes verbale composées (par ex. le passé composé) de certains verbes intransitifs (par ex. tomber), surtout dans des variétés non standards du français, démonte clairement l’écart qui existe entre le français normé et le français oral quotidien. Cette hésitation, voire l’incertitude, dans le choix de l’auxiliaire n’est pas une particularité arbitraire ou aléatoire de la langue contemporaine; elle s’inscrit plutôt dans une tendance diachronique et pan-romane que l’on a pu observer dans la langue française depuis son émancipation du latin. Notre étude, qui se fonde sur la théorie de la grammaticalisation, propose une analyse du discours grammatical de 1500 – époque où sont apparues les premières grammaires du français – jusqu’à 1789 avec la Révolution française, signalant le moment où la langue se serait stabilisée et aurait adopté sa forme moderne. Nous divisons les trois siècles de notre étude en quatre périodes distinctes, déjà bien établies dans les études historiques. Ce sont : - Le XVIe siècle (1530-1599) - La première moitié de la période classique (1600-1650) - La deuxième moitié de la période classique (1651-1715) - Le Siècle des lumières (1716-1789) Pour chacune des quatre périodes, l’analyse se fait en trois temps. Premièrement, nous recensons les grammairiens, les lexicographes et les essayistes qui se sont prononcés, soit explicitement, soit implicitement, sur l’emploi des auxiliaires être et avoir dans les formes verbales composées (FVC). Nous identifions, là où cela est possible, le dialecte maternel de chaque auteur et son modèle d’usage. Deuxièmement, nous résumons les observations et les commentaires sur l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC formulés par chaque auteur, y compris les tentatives d’explication quant à la variation dans le choix de l’auxiliaire. Finalement, nous rapportons la description de l’emploi des auxiliaires dans les FVC proposée par des historiens de la langue française pour la période en question. Notre étude nous permet de confirmer, en ce qui concerne les FVC, certaines tendances déjà reconnues dans la langue française et d’en identifier d’autres. Également, nous avons pu repérer, voire circonscrire des facteurs qui ont eu une influence sur le choix, tels les verbes plus sensibles à l’alternance, les grammairiens dont l’autorité s’est imposé plus que d’autres ou avant les autres dans l’établissement de la norme sur ce point, les contextes sociaux dans lesquels le débat a eu lieu et la période pendant laquelle les préoccupations sur ce choix était les plus intenses. / In contemporary French, the hesitation in the choice between être and avoir as an auxiliary verb in compound verb forms (i.e. the passé composé) of certain intransitive verbs (i.e. tomber), especially in non-standard varieties of French, clearly demonstrates the gap that exists between normative French and everyday spoken French. This hesitation, or uncertainty, in the choice of the auxiliary is not an arbitrary or random characteristics of contemporary French; it falls squarely within a diachronical and cross-Romance trend that can be observed in the French language since its emancipation from Latin. This study, which is based on Grammaticalisation Theory, is an analysis of grammatical discourse from 1500 - the era when the first grammars of French appeared - to 1789 and the French revolution, a period when the language is said to have been standardised and its modern form established. The three centuries that this study covers are divided into four distinct periods, already well established by previous historical studies. These periods are : - The 16th century (1530-1599) - The first half of the Classical Period (1600-1650) - The second half of the Classical Period (1651-1715) - The Enlightenment (1716-1789) For each of these four periods, there are three levels of analysis. First, we identify the grammarians, lexicographers and essayists who, explicitly or implicitly, express their views on the use of the auxiliaries avoir and être in compound verbs forms, as well as, where possible, their native dialect and the model of French (usage) they promote. Second, we summarize the observations and commentaries of each author on the choice of auxiliary in compound verb forms, including any attempts to explain the variation attested during the period. Finally, we look at the description, for each period, of the use of auxiliaries in compound verb forms put forward by historians of the French language. Our study has allowed us to confirm certain established trends related to auxiliary use in compound verb forms in French and to identify others. As well, we identify, or define, the factors that influence auxiliary selection, such as the verbs most likely to alternate between the two auxiliaries, the grammarians who had the greatest influence or who set the groundwork for establishing the norm for this grammatical point, the social contexts in which the grammatical debate took place and the periods during which the concern over auxiliary selection was the most intense.

Orientador: Rosane de Andrade Berlinck / Banca: Flávia Bezerra de Menezes Hirata-Vale / Banca: Sebastião Carlos Leite Gonçalves / Resumo: O presente estudo, sob as proposições da Linguística Histórica e da Sociolinguística Variacionista, averigua a posição dos clíticos pronominais, adjungidos a um único verbo ou a mais de um verbo, em orações presentes em textos jornalísticos produzidos na cidade de São Paulo e no município interiorano paulista de Rio Claro, no período que abrange o final do século XIX e o início do século XX, em particular, entre os anos de 1880 a 1920. Opta-se pelo referido recorte espacial por se tratar de localidades com perfis, em termos, diversos, fazendose uma análise para verificar prováveis semelhanças e particularidades do emprego dos pronomes clíticos nessas regiões. Quanto ao recorte temporal, trata-se de um período pouco investigado do ponto de vista linguístico e relevante pelo conjunto de fatos históricos que o caracterizam - nos cenários internacional e nacional, até mesmo na cidade e no estado de São Paulo - e pelas transformações observadas no seio das sociedades, com consequências inclusive no uso que os seus membros fazem da língua. A escolha do material utilizado como fonte de extração dos dados, os jornais, justifica-se pelo fato de eles, assim como outros meios do domínio discursivo jornalístico, serem compostos por textos de naturezas diversas - diferentes gêneros textuais -, possibilitando identificar, de acordo com aspectos formais e funcionais, os papéis dos interlocutores e o contexto situacional em que são produzidos (maior ou menor monitoramento), a presença de variantes padrão e não-padrão; neste caso, observando-se o uso das formas conservadoras e inovadoras em relação à norma vigente quanto à colocação dos pronomes clíticos. Baseando-se nos pressupostos teóricometodológicos da Teoria da Variação e Mudança Linguísticas, portanto, investigam-se quais variáveis independentes linguísticas e não-linguísticas motivam... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present study, under the assertions of Historical Linguistics and Variationist Sociolinguistics, verifies the position of clitic pronouns, associated to a single verb or associated to more than one verb, in clauses which are part of journalistic texts produced in São Paulo city and in Rio Claro town, located in the interior of São Paulo State. The period analyzed embraces the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century, particularly, between the years 1880 and 1920. This spatial cut is due to the diverse profile of the locations, what is analyzed to verify probable similarities and particularities of the clitic pronouns uses in those areas. Concerning the time cut, the period has had little investigation from the linguistic point of view, but it is relevant by the historical facts which distinguish it - in the national and international sceneries and even in São Paulo city and State - and also by the transformations observed in the societies, with consequences also present in the use of the language by their members. The materials used as data extraction source, the newspapers, were chosen because of their diverse nature of texts, just as other means of the journalistic discourse domain. This choice enables the presence of standard and non-standard variations and the identification of the roles of the interlocutors and the situational context in which they are produced (with higher or lower monitoring), according to formal and functional aspects. In this case, the use of conservative and innovator forms related to the present standard, while placing the clitic pronouns, are observed. Based on the theoretical and methodological purposes from the Theory of Linguistic Change and Variation, therefore, there is an investigation of which independent linguistic and non-linguistic variables motivate, inside the sentence, a certain position of the clitic pronouns... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

La situation des langues régionales pose aujourd’hui de nombreuses questions, et particulièrement dans des zones linguistiques charnières et transitoires, telles que le département de la Drôme. À l’épreuve du contact de deux domaines linguistiques gallo-romans, l’occitan et le francoprovençal mais également à celui du français, la Drôme est un territoire riche de sa pluralité, tant linguistique que culturelle. Pourtant, à l’heure où la transmission familiale et les pratiques de l’occitan deviennent sporadiques et isolées, il était nécessaire d’établir un état des lieux général de la langue au sein des institutions, scolaires notamment, mais également au sein de la communauté linguistique. Identifier les divers profils de locuteurs, estimer la vitalité des pratiques, évaluer le changement linguistique et faire émerger les représentations linguistiques ont ainsi permis d’exposer une image globale du département. À l’image du territoire, le visage linguistique de la Drôme est tout aussi complexe et pluriel : entre conflits d’identités, de langues et volontés de sauvegarde par l’enseignement. / Nowadays the situation of regional languages raises many questions and more particularly in border and transiting linguistic areas such as the Drôme area. Being in contact with two Gallo-Roman linguistic estates, the Occitan and the Franco-Provencal but also with the French language, Drôme territory is rich from its plurality, both linguistic and cultural. Though at a time when family transmission and use of Occitan has become sporadic and isolated, it is necessary to draw out an overall state of the art of the language within institutions, especially at schools, but also within the linguistic community. Identifying the speakers’ various profiles, measuring the liveliness of the language use, evaluating linguistic shifts and bringing out the linguistic representations did set out a holistic picture of the area. The linguistic representation of the Drôme area is just the same as the territory itself, as complex and manifold: with both an identity and language encounter and the desire to save it through teaching.

The Spanish construction lo que pasa es que ‘what happens is that’, ‘the thing is’ is used in a wide variety of contexts and with a range of different meanings. Linguistic research that has been carried out on this relatively common construction often fails to include empirically collected data and, as a result, the diasystematic markers thereof have only been described to a very limited extent. The main focus of this article is to investigate the use of the construction lo que pasa es que and its phonetically reduced forms lo que pasa que and lo que in two Spanishlanguage oral speech corpora collected in Getxo (Basque Country) and Barcelona (Catalonia). These data are used to carry out a quantitative and qualitative study of the presence or absence of this construction in both regions of language contact, something which has yet to be considered or systematically analysed in the relevant research. The study identifies a statistically relevant diatopic markedness of the forms lo que pasa es que, lo que pasa and pasa que while also providing empirical proof for the pragmatic use of these constructions within the varieties investigated. Furthermore, it confirms the use of additional reduced forms of said constructions and describes their development.

The Spanish construction lo que pasa es que ‘what happens is that’, ‘the thing is’ is used in a wide variety of contexts and with a range of different meanings. Linguistic research that has been carried out on this relatively common construction often fails to include empirically collected data and, as a result, the diasystematic markers thereof have only been described to a very limited extent. The main focus of this article is to investigate the use of the construction lo que pasa es que and its phonetically reduced forms lo que pasa que and lo que in two Spanishlanguage oral speech corpora collected in Getxo (Basque Country) and Barcelona (Catalonia). These data are used to carry out a quantitative and qualitative study of the presence or absence of this construction in both regions of language contact, something which has yet to be considered or systematically analysed in the relevant research. The study identifies a statistically relevant diatopic markedness of the forms lo que pasa es que, lo que pasa and pasa que while also providing empirical proof for the pragmatic use of these constructions within the varieties investigated. Furthermore, it confirms the use of additional reduced forms of said constructions and describes their development.

This study takes place within a school situated on the north eastern side of Soshanguve, a township to the north of the capital city, Pretoria, also called Tshwane. The school draws most of its learners from an area that started as an informal settlement. Certain parts of this settlement are now well structured and it is gradually becoming a formal settlement. The children who form part of this study are those whose parents have migrated from neighbouring provinces such as Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga, as well as from neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Owing to this migration, the community around this school is multilingual. Multilingualism has led to phonic, grammatical, semantic and stylistic language interference. This interference has caused language change, which in turn has led to variations that affect the standard form of Sesotho sa Lebowa, the first language of the school. The school selected for this study has achieved very average matriculation results since its establishment in 1994. Although the school generally achieves a 100% pass rate in the subject Sesotho sa Lebowa, marks are generally low despite the fact that the learners are supposedly first language speakers of Sesotho sa Lebowa. The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons for the poor quality of these results. Matriculation results over the past four years attest to the fact that something needs to be done in order to reverse the negative trend of these results. / Linguistics / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)