Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian
This paper investigates the usability of Twitter as a resource for the study of language change in progress in low-resource languages. It is a panel study of a vigorous change in progress, the loss of final t in four relative pronouns (dy't, dêr't, wêr't, wa't) in Frisian, a lang...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frai.2021.644554/full |
| _version_ | 1818440862067064832 |
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| author | Jelske Dijkstra Jelske Dijkstra Wilbert Heeringa Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Hans Van de Velde Hans Van de Velde |
| author_facet | Jelske Dijkstra Jelske Dijkstra Wilbert Heeringa Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Hans Van de Velde Hans Van de Velde |
| author_sort | Jelske Dijkstra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper investigates the usability of Twitter as a resource for the study of language change in progress in low-resource languages. It is a panel study of a vigorous change in progress, the loss of final t in four relative pronouns (dy't, dêr't, wêr't, wa't) in Frisian, a language spoken by ± 450,000 speakers in the north-west of the Netherlands. This paper deals with the issues encountered in retrieving and analyzing tweets in low-resource languages, in the analysis of low-frequency variables, and in gathering background information on Twitterers. In this panel study we were able to identify and track 159 individual Twitterers, whose Frisian (and Dutch) tweets posted in the era 2010–2019 were collected. Nevertheless, a solid analysis of the sociolinguistic factors in this language change in progress was hampered by unequal age distributions among the Twitterers, the fact that the youngest birth cohorts have given up Twitter almost completely after 2014 and that the variables have a low frequency and are unequally spread over Twitterers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:19:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd7fb664b61048d68e79ffbfd2b8bf39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-8212 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:19:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd7fb664b61048d68e79ffbfd2b8bf392022-12-21T22:52:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence2624-82122021-04-01410.3389/frai.2021.644554644554Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in FrisianJelske Dijkstra0Jelske Dijkstra1Wilbert Heeringa2Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber3Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber4Hans Van de Velde5Hans Van de Velde6Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, NetherlandsMercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, Leeuwarden, NetherlandsFryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, NetherlandsFryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, NetherlandsFaculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, NetherlandsFryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, NetherlandsDepartment of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsThis paper investigates the usability of Twitter as a resource for the study of language change in progress in low-resource languages. It is a panel study of a vigorous change in progress, the loss of final t in four relative pronouns (dy't, dêr't, wêr't, wa't) in Frisian, a language spoken by ± 450,000 speakers in the north-west of the Netherlands. This paper deals with the issues encountered in retrieving and analyzing tweets in low-resource languages, in the analysis of low-frequency variables, and in gathering background information on Twitterers. In this panel study we were able to identify and track 159 individual Twitterers, whose Frisian (and Dutch) tweets posted in the era 2010–2019 were collected. Nevertheless, a solid analysis of the sociolinguistic factors in this language change in progress was hampered by unequal age distributions among the Twitterers, the fact that the youngest birth cohorts have given up Twitter almost completely after 2014 and that the variables have a low frequency and are unequally spread over Twitterers.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frai.2021.644554/fullCMCFrisianrelative pronount-deletionpanel studyfrequency |
| spellingShingle | Jelske Dijkstra Jelske Dijkstra Wilbert Heeringa Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber Hans Van de Velde Hans Van de Velde Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence CMC Frisian relative pronoun t-deletion panel study frequency |
| title | Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian |
| title_full | Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian |
| title_fullStr | Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian |
| title_short | Using Twitter Data for the Study of Language Change in Low-Resource Languages. A Panel Study of Relative Pronouns in Frisian |
| title_sort | using twitter data for the study of language change in low resource languages a panel study of relative pronouns in frisian |
| topic | CMC Frisian relative pronoun t-deletion panel study frequency |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frai.2021.644554/full |
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