A elevação variável da vogal média anterior átona /e/, como em cidade::cidadi, segunda::sigunda e me chama::mi chama, foi investigada, na fala de 32 informantes de Flores da Cunha (RS), por meio de análise quantitativa, nos moldes da Teoria da Variação Linguística, de Labov (1994, 2008 [1972]), e por meio de análise qualitativa, nos moldes da Teoria da Variação como Prática Social, de Eckert (2000). Houve aplicação da regra de elevação em 50,7% dos 25708 contextos obtidos. As variáveis controladas – Presença de coda na sílaba, Presença de onset na sílaba, Vogal da Sílaba Seguinte, Posição de /e/ na palavra, Contexto fonológico precedente, Contexto fonológico seguinte, Gênero, Idade e Local de residência – foram consideradas significativas pelo programa GoldvarbX, usado na análise estatística. A elevação é condicionada favoravelmente pelos fatores sílaba sem onset, sílaba com coda, vogal alta na sílaba seguinte, vogal /e/ em clítico, consoante velar ou zero em contexto precedente, vogal ou zero em contexto seguinte, zona urbana e idade entre 18 e 30 anos. Sendo os jovens os introdutores da regra de elevação na comunidade, o fenômeno caracteriza-se como mudança linguística em progresso. Para verificar em que medida as práticas sociais desses jovens estão relacionadas a seus índices de elevação de /e/, foi realizada análise de conteúdo (BARDIN, 2000; FREITAS; JANISSEK, 2000) de entrevistas de oito jovens florenses. Essa análise revelou que os jovens que adotam práticas sociais tradicionais, ligadas à história da imigração italiana, têm frequência de aplicação da regra menor do que aqueles que se engajam em práticas inovadoras. Enquanto que as práticas tradicionais orientam-se para a vida na comunidade, as inovadoras orientam-se para fora da comunidade. Os jovens que desejam permanecer na localidade elevam menos a vogal /e/, ao passo que aqueles que desejam dela sair, a fim de adequar-se ao modo de falar mais corrente em outras regiões brasileiras, passam a aplicar a regra de elevação com mais frequência. / The variable raising of the unstressed mid front vowel /e/, in contexts such as cidade::cidadi (city), segunda::sigunda (second) and me chama::mi chama (call me), was studied in the speech of 32 informants from Flores da Cunha (RS, Brazil). The process was analyzed quantitatively, according to Labov’s (1994, 2008 [1972]) Theory of Language Variation, and qualitatively, according to Eckert’s (2000) Theory of Language Variation as Social Practice. 25708 contexts were obtained, and the variable rule – the raising of /e/ – was applied in 50,7% of them. All of the controlled variables – Syllable with coda, Syllable with onset, Type of vowel of the following syllable, Position of /e/ in the word, Preceding phonological context, Following phonological context, Gender, Age and Place of living – were considered to be significant by the statistic program GoldvarbX. The raising of /e/ is favorably conditioned by the factors syllable without onset, syllable with coda, high vowel in the following syllable, /e/ in clitics, preceding velar consonant or no preceding context, following vowel or no following context, informants who live in the city (not in the rural areas) and age between 18 and 30 years old. Since young people are introducing the raising of /e/ in the community, this phenomenon may be considered change in progress. In order to verify how the social practices of young people are related to the raising, a content analysis was performed (BARDIN, 2000; FREITAS; JANISSEK, 2000), based on the speech of eight people from Flores da Cunha whose ages ranged from 18 to 30 years old. The content analysis revealed that young people who adopt traditional social practices which are linked to the history of Italian immigration apply the variable rule less frequently than those who engage in innovative practices. Traditional practices are oriented to life inside the community, whereas innovative practices are oriented to life outside the community. Young people who wish to remain in the community do not raise /e/ as often as those who wish to leave the place; young people who want to leave the community tend to apply the rule more frequently in order to fit in with the pronunciation that is more usual in other Brazilian regions.

Orientadores: Anna Christina Bentes da Silva, Josane Moreira de Oliveira / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T01:05:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alves_RosanaFerreira_D.pdf: 1294916 bytes, checksum: 7551a54b1c86e72e9f0a8dc66472ad0b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Esta tese investiga a expressão de modalidades típicas do subjuntivo em duas sincronias do português: século XVI (dados de GANDAVO, 1556) e contemporaneidade (dados de Muriaé-MG e de Feira de Santana-BA). Utilizam-se dos pressupostos teóricos e procedimentos metodológicos da Sociolingüística Quantitativa (LABOV, 1972, 1994) e analisam-se os contextos de tempo presente das sentenças completivas, adverbiais e relativas. Nesse trabalho, aventa-se a hipótese central de que em diversas fases do português, o fenômeno do uso do subjuntivo não esta apenas relacionado a co-ocorrencia do indicativo e do subjuntivo, como costumam abordar na literatura sociolinguistica (cf. BIANCHET, 1996; MEIRA, 2006; FAGUNDES, 2007, dentre outros), mas também a realização de estruturas alternativas, a saber: sentenças que se apresentam com a forma verbal nominalizada, no gerúndio, no infinitivo, elíptica ou no futuro condicional. Aventa-se, também, a hipótese de que o português falado no solo mineiro esteja manifestando uma etapa mais avançada do processo de variação linguística. Mas especificamente, no caso do uso do presente do subjuntivo, assume-se a hipótese de que construções com a forma verbal no presente do subjuntivo não estejam tão frequentes no vernáculo mineiro como esta no baiano, fato que se manifesta pela recorrência, em índices mais altos, dos usos do presente do indicativo e de estruturas alternativas nos dados de Muriaé-MG. Para, assim, caracterizar o fenômeno em estudo, busca-se verificar a atuação de fatores estruturais e sociais na co-ocorrência indicativo/subjuntivo e no uso de estruturas alternativas, bem como, identificar os aspectos sintáticos e semânticos apresentados por essas estruturas. Em conclusão encontra-se exposto o que pode ser sintetizado nas seguintes palavras: a expressão das modalidades típicas do subjuntivo apresenta nas duas sincronias pontos em comum e características díspares. Eis os pontos afins: alto índice de uso de estruturas alternativas (em torno de 70%), exceto em contexto de sentenças relativas; co-ocorrência indicativo/subjuntivo, sobretudo em contexto de adverbiais e relativas. Referente aos pontos díspares, cada quadro sincrônico do fenômeno apresenta-se impar em relação a atuação de fatores estruturais e sociais. Com isso, atesta-se, assim, a validade da hipótese de que o fenômeno do não-uso do subjuntivo encontra-se em estagio mais avançado na amostra mineira do que na baiana. / Abstract: This thesis investigates the expression of typical modalities of the subjunctive in two synchronies of the Portuguese: century XVI (data of GANDAVO, 1556) and contemporarily (data from Muriae-MG and Feira de Santana-BA). The estimated theoreticians and methodological procedures of the Quantitative Sociolinguistics use themselves of (LABOV, 1972, 1994) and analyze the contexts of present time of the completive, adverbial and relative clauses. In this work it is suggested the central hypothesis of that in diverse phases of the Portuguese, the phenomenon of the use of the subjunctive is not only related to the co-occurrence of the indicative and the subjunctive, as they used to considered in sociolinguistics literature (cf. BIANCHET, 1996; MEIRA, 2006; FAGUNDES, 2007, amongst others), but also to the realization of alternative structures, namely, sentences which present themselves with the verbal forms nominalizated, in the gerund, in the infinitive, elliptical or in the conditional future. It also suggests the hypothesis of that the Portuguese said in the "mineiro" area is revealed a stage more advanced of the process of linguistic variation. But specifically, in the case of the use of the present of the subjunctive, it is assumed hypothesis of that constructions with the verbal form in the present of the subjunctive are not so frequent in vernacular "mineiro" as it is in the "baiano", fact which manifests by the recurrence, in higher levels, of the uses of the present of the indicative and alternative structures in the data of Muriae-MG. For, thus, characterizing the phenomenon in studying, it is tried to verify the performance of structural and social factors in co-occurrence of indicative/subjunctive and the use of alternative structures, as well as identifying the syntactic and semantic aspects that characterize these structures. In conclusion, it is displayed what it can be synthesized in the following words: the expression of the typical modalities of the subjunctive presents in common in the two synchronies points and different characteristics. Here it is the similar points: high index of use of alternative structures (around 70%), except in context of relative sentences; co-occurrence of the indicative/ subjunctive, over all in context of adverbial and relative clauses. Referring to the points, we can affirm that each synchronous set of the phenomenon is presented odd in relation to the performance of structural and social factors. With this, it is certified, thus, the validity of the hypothesis of that the phenomenon of the not-use of the subjunctive is found in a more advanced stage in the "mineiro" sample of than in the "baiano" one. / Doutorado / Linguistica / Doutor em Linguística

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / Neste trabalho, realizamos uma pesquisa sobre as variantes das consoantes palatais lateral e nasal, em seis cidades do Estado do ParÃ, a saber, Altamira, BelÃm, BraganÃa, MarabÃ, Soure, SantarÃm, cada uma delas localizada em uma mesorregiÃo do estado. O corpus à constituÃdo de fala espontÃnea, obtida em forma de narrativa de experiÃncia pessoal junto a 24 informantes nascidos nessas cidades, totalizando 144 informantes, selecionados de acordo com os pressupostos teÃricos da SociolingÃÃstica Quantitativa. O tratamento dos dados leva em conta, alÃm das variÃveis sociais, variÃveis lingÃÃsticas consideradas condicionantes do fenÃmeno de variaÃÃo em estudo, cuja anÃlise estatÃstica à feita pelo uso do pacote de programas VARBRUL (98), em rodadas ternÃrias, conforme a quantidade de variantes identificadas para cada variÃvel lingÃÃstica. AlÃm desta anÃlise, propomos uma interpretaÃÃo dos processos fonolÃgicos envolvidos nas realizaÃÃes fonÃticas a partir dos pressupostos teÃricos da Geometria de TraÃos. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que os fenÃmenos variÃveis associados Ãs palatais lateral e nasal nos falares estudados sÃo condicionados tanto por fatores lingÃÃsticos quanto sociais, e que podem ser interpretados à luz de uma teoria fonolÃgica, no caso a Fonologia de Geometria de TraÃos. Por essa teoria, verificamos que os fenÃmenos relacionados Ãs variantes desses segmentos podem ser compreendidos como resultantes de ligamento e desligamento de traÃos fonÃticos, caracterizando diferentes variantes fonÃticas, cujos usos, por sua vez, estÃo condicionados pelos valores que lhes sÃo atribuÃdos em conseqÃÃncia de fatores sociais, como sexo, faixa etÃria, escolaridade e origem dos falantes. / In this work we do a research about the variations of the lateral and nasal palatal consonants, in six cities of the state of ParÃ, as follows, Altamira, BelÃm, BraganÃa, MarabÃ, Soure, SantarÃm, each one of them located in a mesoregion of the state. The corpus of the research is constituted of spontaneous speech, obtained in form of narrative of personal experience among 24 informants born in these cities, totalizing 144 informants, selected using the theoretical dispositions of the Quantitative Sociolinguistic. The treating of the data takes into account, besides the social variables, linguistic variables considered as conditionings of the variation phenomenon in study, which statistic analysis is done using the package program VARBRUL (98) in ternary rounds, according the amount of identified variants for each linguistic variation. Besides this analysis, we propose an interpretation of the phonological process involved in the phonetical realization based on the theoretical conditionings of the Features Geometry. The results obtained show that the variable phenomenon associated to the nasal and lateral palatal speeches studied, are conditioned by linguistic as well as social factors, and that can be interpreted in the light of a phonological theory, in the case the Phonology of Features Geometry. In this theory, we can see that the phenomenon related to the variants of these segments can be understood as resultants of connected and disconnected of features, characterizing different phonetical variations, which uses, therefore, are conditioned by the values that are attributed in consequence of social factors, such as sex, age, school education and origin of the speakers.

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2014-11-05T11:34:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Ronan Lucas de Oliveira.pdf: 7933061 bytes, checksum: 4c1cf876cf2d8576a548f1d062810cf5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-11-06T10:42:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Ronan Lucas de Oliveira.pdf: 7933061 bytes, checksum: 4c1cf876cf2d8576a548f1d062810cf5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-11-06T10:42:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao Ronan Lucas de Oliveira.pdf: 7933061 bytes, checksum: 4c1cf876cf2d8576a548f1d062810cf5 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this study, through the analytical and interpretative support from Sociolinguistics, we systematize and describe the behavior of pretonic oral mid vowels /e, o/ by Portuguese speakers of Marabá in Brazil. Based on the observation of the sociocultural and linguistic diversity of this speech community, the research corpus was collected from 36 native subjects to guarantee that the sample plan obeys socio-stratified criteria relating to gender, schooling and age. We used the computational tool VARB2000 for the statistical survey concerning the frequency of the dependent variables. This tool was also used to calculate the relative heft of the independent variables considered relevant for this study. The results make evident the predominance of the low-mid variants [, ] (48%, 51%). High-mid vowels represent the second biggest quantity [e, o] (34%, 27%), and high vowels the third [i, u] (18%, 22%). The quantification of pretonic oral mid vowels in the speech of Portuguese speakers of Marabá confirms the system of variation in PB. / Este trabalho, por meio dos suportes analíticos e interpretativos da Sociolinguística, descreve e sistematiza o comportamento das vogais médias pretônicos orais /e, o/ no falar de Marabá- PA. A partir da observação da diversidade sociocultural e linguística dessa comunidade de fala, o corpus da pesquisa foi coletado junto a 36 sujeitos nativos, de forma que o plano da amostra obedece a critérios sócio-estratificados referentes ao sexo, à escolaridade e à faixa etária. Utilizamos a ferramenta computacional VARB2000 para o levantamento estatístico referente à frequência das variáveis dependentes e para o cálculo dos pesos relativos das variáveis independentes consideradas com significância para este trabalho. Os resultados evidenciam a predominância das variantes médias baixas [, ] (48%, 51%), o segundo quantitativo é apresentado pelas médias altas [e, o] (34%, 27%) e o terceiro pelas altas [i, u] (18%, 22%). A quantificação dos segmentos vocálicos orais médios pretônicos, na fala marabaense, confirma o sistema de variação no PB.

Submitted by JÚLIO HEBER SILVA (julioheber@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-11-10T11:49:27Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ana Débora Rodrigues Silva - 2016.pdf: 3553522 bytes, checksum: 8240bce0feaee42f6f1a0eb8fbc90d3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2016-11-10T17:47:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ana Débora Rodrigues Silva - 2016.pdf: 3553522 bytes, checksum: 8240bce0feaee42f6f1a0eb8fbc90d3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-10T17:47:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ana Débora Rodrigues Silva - 2016.pdf: 3553522 bytes, checksum: 8240bce0feaee42f6f1a0eb8fbc90d3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-30 / Based on Sociolinguistics variationist, this work is dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of variation of /r/ in the speech of community of City of Goiás (Goiás) and to grasp the linguistic and social factors that control the occurrence of the variants. In the survey, which used data collected for the ALINGO (Linguistic Atlas of Goiás) project, in 2012 in the city of Goiás, the phonetic realizations were analyzed /r/ in the final of syllable in medial and final position, in speech vilaboense. The data after transcribed and coded, were processed in the statistical program GoldVarb X. After quantitative analysis, the results were interpreted, discussing the relationship between the execution of the variants, the reconstruction of the identity of the city of Goiás and the reaffirmation of goiana linguistic identity by vilaboense speakers, concluding that, currently, the cancellation of the /r/ is a stable variation and the city is part of the retroflex map. / Com base na Sociolinguística Variacionista, este trabalho dedica-se à análise e interpretação da variação do /r/ na comunidade de fala da Cidade de Goiás/GO e a apreender os fatores linguísticos e sociais que controlam as ocorrências das variantes. Na pesquisa, que utilizou dados coletados para o projeto ALINGO (Atlas Linguístico de Goiás), no ano de 2012, na cidade de Goiás (Goiás), foram analisadas as realizações fonéticas de /r/, na posição de codas silábicas medial e final, na fala vilaboense. Os dados, depois de transcritos e codificados, foram processados no programa estatístico GoldVarb X. Após a análise quantitativa, os resultados foram interpretados, discutindo-se a relação entre a execução das variantes, a reconstrução da identidade da cidade de Goiás e a reafirmação da identidade linguística goiana pelos falantes vilaboenses, concluindo-se que, atualmente, o apagamento do /r/ é uma variação estável e que a Cidade de Goiás está inserida no mapa do erre retroflexo.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo de natureza sincrônica e quantitativa da variação entre aplicação x não-aplicação da regra de concordância verbal de 3ª e 1ª pessoas do plural. Os dados são oriundos da variedade do português popular falada por pessoas idosas residentes na zona rural dos estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais, na área correspondente às trilhas das bandeiras paulistas. A variação da concordância verbal de 3ª pessoa do plural constitui um fenômeno comum no português do Brasil e tem sido amplamente documentada pela literatura lingüística, a qual evidencia que formas como Eles fala x Eles falam podem ser encontradas na fala de pessoas de diversas regiões brasileiras e de diferentes graus de escolaridade. São poucos os estudos que tratam da variação da regra de concordância com sujeitos de 1ª pessoa do plural (Nós fala x Nós falamos), manifestada em variedades populares do português brasileiro. Adotando os pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Sociolingüística e da Lingüística Funcional, nosso objetivo é descrever, analisar e explicar os padrões de concordância encontrados, buscando identificar os fatores lingüísticos (semânticos, gramaticais, discursivos) e sociais que condicionam a realização ou a não-realização da regra formal de concordância verbal. / This research presents a synchronic and quantitative study of the variation between application x non-application of the subject-verb agreement rule with the 3rd and 1st plural persons. The data were collected from Popular Portuguese spoken by elderly who live in the rural areas of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, in the regions that coincide with the historical route of the Bandeirantes (members of colonial exploratory expeditions). The variation of subject-verb agreement with the 3rd plural person is an ordinary phenomenon in Brazilian Portuguese, and it has been extensively documented by linguistic literature, which gives evidence that forms as Eles fala x Eles falam can be found in the speech of people of various Brazilian regions and of different education degrees. Few are the studies that deal with the variation of subject-verb agreement with the 1st plural person (Nós fala x Nós falamos), displayed in popular varieties of Brazilian Portuguese. Using the theories of Sociolinguistics and Functional Linguistics, our goal is to describe, analyze and explain the patterns of agreement found, searching for linguistic (semantic, grammatical, discursive) and social factors that condition the application or the non-application of the formal subject-verb agreement rule.

M.A. (African Languages) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Notre recherche porte sur les relations entre langues africaines, identités et pratiques linguistiques en situation migratoire et s’inspire des travaux se situant dans les domaines de l’anthropologie linguistique et de la sociologie de l’immigration. À partir de terrains menés dans trois foyers de travailleurs migrants de Montreuil, une ville de la banlieue Est de la région parisienne, nous explorons les méthodes mobilisées par les résidents de ces foyers pour communiquer avec les autres par rapport au contexte et aux interlocuteurs. La vitalité ethnolinguistique d’une langue comme le soninké, le contact des langues africaines entre elles d’une part et entre celles-ci et le français (langue de l’ex-colonisateur et du pays d’accueil) d’autre part dans les foyers de travailleurs migrants, le tout avec les modes de réappropriation et de reconfiguration de ces espaces d’accueil sont au centre de nos réflexions. / Our research focuses on relations between African languages, identities and linguistic practices in migration situation and draws on the work lying in the fields of linguistic anthropology and sociology of immigration. From land conducted in three outbreaks of migrant workers in Montreuil, a suburb east of Paris region, we explore the methods employed by the residents of these homes to communicate with others in relation to the context and interlocutors. Ethnolinguistic vitality of a language as the Soninke, the contact of African languages among themselves and between them and the French (the language of the former colonizer and the host country) in the other workers hostels migrants, with all modes of appropriation and reconfiguration of the reception areas are central to our thinking.

Liverpool English, also known as Scouse, is an easily distinguishable accent, but whether or not it contains enough regionally specific grammar and vocabulary to be considered its own dialect is another matter. This Bachelor’s thesis set out to investigate this using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods on data consisting of informal interviews found on the website Youtube with people from Liverpool. These videos were selected based on the assumption that people with discernible accents are most likely to also speak with a dialect. The results of the research showed that discerning whether or not Scouse is a dialect is not as straightforward as it would seem. Depending on the judgment of how many regional features are enough, the conclusion of this project was that the appearance of any items is sufficient to claim that Scouse is indeed a dialect.

The present work is a sample study in which the investigator asks a number of randomly selected informants[1]to evaluate a number of items and to answer questions on their take on and understanding of, unconventional language. The focus of the investigation is on the relationship between the interviewees’ understanding and recognition of unconventional language and their particular attitudes towards the same as their ability to recognise slang is compared with their respective attitudes. To fully appreciate the linguistic scope within which this exists, one must acknowledge what it is that generates an informant’s attitudes. The American linguist Penelope Eckert (2000) has in her Linguistic variation as Social Practice written something that quite well captures what it is all about. Here is what she writes: “In many cases it is easy to identity the common endeavour that assembles a community of practice (using language): a garage band, a day care cooperative, a research group, a kindergarten class. That endeavour develops a life of its own as local practices develop around it, transforming the enterprise, the activity, and knowledge. The practices that emerge as a rock’n roll band works together include such things as the choice of songs the band plays, the kind of music, a view of its place in the wider landscape of music, an attitude towards other kinds of music, the band’s “sound” and the contribution of each instrument of that sound, ways of dressing, ways of getting and choosing gigs, ways of performing and behaving on gigs, ways of developing new songs and rehearsing, ways of behaving and talking in encounters with band members and when representing the band. This practise is one that develops – it grows out of the band’s mutual engagement in being that particular band. The individual musicians, through their particular form of participation, simultaneously construct identities of participation in that band. At the same time, that process of construction, engaged in jointly by the various members of the bank, yields a band – or a (speech) community of practice – with a particular character. The character of that band in turn enters into the individual members’ interactions with people outside the band, in the members’ personae at work, at home, and at other bands’ gigs” (Eckert 2000: 35-36). The above captures what attitude ‘is’ in many ways, not merely the explicit attitudes one actively display such as clothes, personal attire or style, but it prevails the sense of what linguistic attitudes are. The use of language, ergo speaking, is what generates our attitudes, or rather linguistic attitudes are maintained and constructed in line with how we like to be perceived, thus what language we wish to use. This is what the present study aims to unfold – what command of unconventional features would a user of language have and what does the informants’ attitudes toward language of this nature look reveal. [1]This is not to say perfectly ‘randomly selected’ but more in the sense that the study is not set against a particular group but rather the contrary, no particular group at all. This is in order to, to the point it is possible, enable the informants to form a model of a general cut of speakers in a society. This should preferably then include people from all segments of a society, as well socially, economically as ethnically. The informants in this kind of segment should further be naturally distributed on the age scale.