Snapshot
The use of Urban Ammani Arabic (UAA) by adult female speakers in Amman, Jordan, is driven by five major social factors: displaying softness and attractiveness, achieving social goals, developing social bonds, emphasizing educational prestige, and projecting a higher socioeconomic class.
Key findings
The study revealed five major factors driving the use of UAA by adult female speakers: displaying softness and attractiveness (gender identity), achieving certain social goals, fostering social bonds among female speakers, showcasing educational prestige, and projecting a higher socioeconomic class. Additionally, the results showed that the preference for certain factors varies with age, with older females (>45) having different motivations compared to younger ones (<35).
The study identifies three primary factors that motivate adult female speakers to use UAA: (1) expressing softness and attractiveness, (2) achieving social goals such as boosting job opportunities and improving marriage prospects, and (3) cultivating social bonds and fostering social harmony.
The key findings of the study are that UAA is associated with education, sophistication, and a higher socioeconomic class, and its use by adult female speakers is driven by the desire to display softness and attractiveness, achieve social goals, develop social bonds, emphasize educational prestige, and project a higher socioeconomic class.
The study found that there are five major factors motivating adult female speakers in Amman to use UAA: displaying softness and attractiveness, achieving social goals, developing social bonds, emphasizing educational prestige, and pretending to be from a higher socioeconomic class. Additionally, age plays a role in both the motives and attitudes of adult female speakers using UAA in Amman.
The findings revealed five major factors driving the use of UAA: displaying softness and attractiveness, achieving certain social goals, fostering social bonds among female speakers, showcasing educational prestige, and projecting the appearance of belonging to a higher socioeconomic class
Objectives
The objective of the study was to investigate the unique tendency among adult female speakers in the Amman metropolitan area to use UAA in their daily interactions, especially in non-domestic environments, when this variety is different from the one they acquire at home.
Methods
The study employed sociolinguistic and semi-structured interviews with 132 adult female speakers from the Amman metropolitan area.
The study employed a sociolinguistic interview methodology, using a corpus collected through audio recordings of female speakers living in the Amman metropolitan area. The researchers used their personal social networks to access participants and conducted semi-structured interviews lasting between 10-15 minutes to elicit vernacular speech.
The study uses a sociolinguistic approach to examine the language use of adult female speakers in Amman, Jordan.
The study employed a stratified sampling approach, dividing the participants into younger and older age cohorts to compare the motivations for the use of UAA and assess whether age plays a role in influencing adult females in Amman to speak UAA.
Results
The results of the study showed that adult female speakers prefer to use UAA due to five major factors: displaying softness and attractiveness (gender identity), achieving certain social goals, fostering social bonds among female speakers, showcasing educational prestige, and projecting a higher socioeconomic class. Additionally, the results highlighted that the preference for certain factors varies with age.
The study found that adult female speakers use UAA to express softness and attractiveness, achieve social goals, and cultivate social bonds and foster social harmony. The results are presented in Table 1, which outlines the frequency of each factor across all interviews.
The results of the study show that UAA is associated with education, sophistication, and a higher socioeconomic class, and its use by adult female speakers is driven by the desire to display softness and attractiveness, achieve social goals, develop social bonds, emphasize educational prestige, and project a higher socioeconomic class.
The results revealed that younger females consider achieving social goals to be a key motivator for using UAA, while older females focus more on developing social bonds and achieving social harmony.
Conclusions
The study concludes that understanding why females prefer UAA involves exploring various social and cultural factors, which can be highly beneficial for sociolinguistic theory. The study’s findings can help explain how and why language use differs between genders, shedding light on broader patterns of how men and women navigate social and linguistic expectations.
The study concludes that the use of UAA by adult female speakers is motivated by a range of social factors, including the desire to express softness and attractiveness, achieve social goals, and cultivate social bonds and foster social harmony.
The study concludes that the adoption of UAA is a deliberate effort to enhance social standing, and that language functions as a currency for social capital. The findings also highlight the importance of considering the complex interplay between language, identity, and power in understanding linguistic behavior, particularly in gendered contexts.
Future Research
Future studies could compare the use of UAA between male and female speakers or explore its role in younger generations. Additionally, investigating the interplay of digital media and urban dialects may provide insights into the evolving dynamics of language and identity in rapidly urbanizing societies.
What are your thoughts on how language shapes social identity in urban settings? Share your experiences in the comments!
