Which of the following is *NOT* an example of an extralinguistic factor that can define a speech community and the linguistic variation used by groups of speakers?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To tackle the question, we first identify what counts as extralinguistic factors versus linguistic features themselves.
Option 1: Socioeconomic Status. This is an extralinguistic factor because it refers to social and economic position, which can influence language use, dialect, and speech community membership, without being a linguistic element of the language itself.
Option 2: Age. Age is an extralinguistic characteristic that often correlates with different speech communities and speech patterns across generations, affecting linguistic variation.
Option 3: Word Structure. This is a linguistic feature, not an extralinguistic factor. Word structure concerns the internal makeup of words (morphemes, morphology, inflection) rather than social or demographic characteristics that define a community. Therefore, it is not an extralinguistic determinant of a speech community.
Option 4: Gender. Gender typically influences speech patterns and the way language is used within communities, making it an extralinguistic factor impacting linguistic variation.
Option 5: Ethnicity. Ethnicity relates to cultural background and group identity, which can shape language use and dialectal differences, thus serving as an extralinguistic factor.
In summary, the options except for Word Structure describe social, demographic, or cultural factors that help define a speech community and its variation, while Word Structure itself is a linguistic property of the language rather than an extralinguistic determinant.

LIN 001Y A01-A12 SQ 2025 Language Variation & Change HW

Which of the following is NOT an example of an extralinguistic factor that can define a speech community and the linguistic variation used by groups of speakers?

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