Gettin’ sociolinguistic data remotely: comparing vernacularity during online remote versus in-person sociolinguistic interviews

Abstract

Abstract The following paper examines the use of the stable sociolinguistic variable (-ing) across two different interview modalities: “classic” in-person sociolinguistic interviews and identical interviews conducted remotely over online video chat. The goal of this research was to test whether a change in modality results in style-shifting, as quantified by different rates of formal/standard [-ɪŋ] versus informal/non-standard [-ɪn]. Results show that when the internal linguistic constraints governing (-ing) variation are taken into account, there is not a significant difference between modalities, suggesting both modalities are equally formal (or informal). This suggests that remote online video chats are a viable method for collecting sociolinguistic data.