GENDER AND AGE EFFECTS ON BAGHDAD LEXICAL CHOICES: A COGNITIVE SOCIOLINGUISTICS STUDY BY IRAQI STUDENTS

Abstract

In Arabic socio-linguistics, the effects of sex and age on lexical choice have been inconsistent. The Arab world's prestigious dialect is not mainstream or modern Arabic. This article aims to explore the linguistic system's inner work to better understand the relationship between social and language by introducing a cognitive approach. The cognitive approach to lexical choice mainly concerns the definitions or perceptions of each word used in society. This quantitative work has focused on variations in the lexical choices of the literate Baghdadis according to gender and age. This article identifies some trends of change by comparing their lexical options in three classes (24,26-27-40 and 41-65). Also, gender has one of the leading social factors associated with lexical variation. The prestigious language form has correlated to standard Arabic. Therefore, males who opt for Standard Arabic can have considered professional Arabic teachers as linguistically they are more conscious of prestige than females. This study will explain the relationship between Baghdadi Dialect and Standard Arabic and their educational effect by Iraqi Students at karabuk University.