Choice of phonetic variables, /k/ and [?], in al-jaroushia speech community, Palestine: a socio-phonological perspective

This study aims to pinpoint the sex of the speakers as the most dominant social correlate intersecting with their socio-economic status (level and field of education and income level), addressee and age to determine the speaker\u27s choice of phonetic variables /k/ and [?] ] in AlJaroushia speech community, Palestine. It strongly suggests that females, rather than males, pioneer in a trend towards more frequent vocalizations of standard Arabic phonetic forms. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, data was collected from thirty eight respondents by using a CD Recorder that recorded the answers of the test questions: what is Nablus famous for, and what is a cat mostly afraid of? The answers are respectively /knafi/ (a kind of sweet which Nablus city is famous for) and /kalb/ (dog), in both of which /k/ could also be realized (articulated) as [?]. Another major tool was interviewing the respondents on different occasions and in different social status quos. The study obviously reveals that the sex of the speaker is the major, most influential social correlate governing their choice of /k/ and [?] inasmuch as it intersects with the speaker\u27s socio-economic status , addressee and age, setting up intricate patterns of social stratification