Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...

SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION AND CHANGE IN URBAN INDIA
i.e.
(6452.4975 – 5168.4986) / (113 – 110)
3082.8759 / 87
(* D = Deviance, d.f. = degrees of freedom)
The F-ratio for the [caste] model was thus found to be 12.09. A significant
value of the F-statistic indicated that the model (constant) and model (caste)
could be distinguished. The significant F-statistic (i.e. the low p-value)
strengthens my claim that, even with the small sample size, any difference
we observe is most unlikely to be the result of chance; the observed
difference is the result of treatment effect and the figures are reliable.
From the above table we see that addition of the factor ‘caste’ to the
model yielded a significant value of the F-statistic (p < 0.001). Similarly,
additions of ‘sex’ and ‘mother’s education’ to the model yielded significant
F-ratios (p = 0.009 and 0.003 respectively). Subsequent additions of ‘father’s
education’ and ‘father’s occupation’ to the model (indicated in the table
above by [+ef] and [+of] in the table) did not reduce the deviance greatly
and the F-ratios were not found to be significant. Three social factors were
thus identified which co-vary significantly with a high frequency of
occurrence of the standard variant of (N). Further, ‘caste’ emerged as the
most significant explanatory variable, suggesting that the phonological
variable (N) is a caste marker.
Having isolated ‘caste’ as the most significant social factor, I
proceeded to explore inter-caste differences. Table 2 below presents an
analysis of parameter estimates for the factor ‘caste’.
Table 2. Analysis of parameter estimates for ‘caste’
Parameter Estimate
Scheduled -1.65
Backward -0.92
Maratha -2.06
Brahmin 0.00
Holding the estimate for the ‘Brahmin’ group constant and allowing for the
variation caused by the four main effects other than caste, I found that, the
estimates for the three non-Brahmin caste groups in the sample were
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