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SociolingII
Robin Baugus
Final Research Proposal

Gender, Formality, and Contraction

Robin Baugus

Abstract
This study examines whether contraction use is predictable along gender lines, based on the
formality of a given situation, or whether it is freely varied. Contractions have not be observed too
closely in a sociolinguistic context, and almost never in spoken language. Generally, studies which
observed contraction use are limited to text analysis and almost none are recent (Kjellmer, 1998;
Deckert & Yaeger-Dror, 1999; Haugland, 1995). However, the resources available hint at prestige or
formality associated with non-contracted forms. Kjellmers 1998 study found that as the formality of
the text studied increased, contraction use decreased. This study will examine whether the same holds
true for spoken language. Furthermore, if non-contracted forms are associated with a level of prestige
it is possible that these forms would be utilized more by women who generally use more prestigious
forms than men. (Labov, 1990)

This study examines the spoken word and seeks a pattern of

predictability.
The Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English (SBCSAE) was analyzed for the
presence or absence of contraction use by speakers in a variety of situations. Results from this study
may illuminate how syntactic elements of speech can vary freely between speakers. If contraction use
is found to be predictable it might indicate that speakers are responding to linguistic norms assigning
formality or prestige to contracted or non-contracted forms. The results could pave the way for further
research into contractions, expanding an otherwise generally neglected area of research.

Introduction
This study proposes to seek out relationships between contraction use in spoken language and
gender as well as formality. Potential relationships between these factors has not been explicitly
examined by researchers to date though it is possible that a correlation exists which as not been
identified based on the conclusions established in what literature is available.
Barron Brainerd (1989) analyzed the historical development of not-contractions primarily as
they appeared in plays (though he also examined some novels and personal letters). He uncovered in
his work the ready appearance of contractions in plays in comical situations. Rarely did they appear in
serious situations (or in serious plays at all!). Furthermore, while contraction use may be utilized in
comical scenes (especially by non-standard speakers), other comic scenes involving characters meant
to be speakers of the standard language contained far fewer contractions if any. This allowed for his
deduction that contractions, which entered the standard language through non-standard speakers, were
not viewed as respectable. Not-contractions themselves seemed to have emerged from a given pattern
of two distinct words (ex: will not) which merged into a partial contraction (ex: wonnot), and
ended in full contractions (ex: won't) as both the partial and fully contracted forms appear together
during the 1630s, but primarily fully contracted forms are seen following the Restoration. Contractions
as a whole appear to remain unaccepted until approximately the 19th century.
Denis Gailor also examined plays in his 2011 article on early contractions, citing that plays are
meant to represent common speech. In Gailor's analysis he provides a generalized evolution of
contracted forms, indicating that contractions of will (he'll, she'll, we'll, I'll etc.) appeared
first to be followed by contractions of is, then would and are. Many of the modern notcontractions appear to be next, alongside other forms of is (such as when's) and have (we've).
Last were other forms of not-contractions (including such terms as couldn't and wasn't), arecontractions (what're), will-contractions (it'll, there'll, etc.) and the contracted form of had

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(such as it'd). Contractions appeared to be used about half as frequently in the early plays as they
were in plays of the later 19th and 20th centuries indicating that their acceptance in standard speech has
risen. He accounts for the disappearance of some forms (such as the intermediary wonnot of
Brainerd's article) as shifts in popular pronunciation, stating that contractions likely appeared
orthographically as they had been verbally pronounced at the time.

However, unlike Brainerd's

analysis, Gailor concluded that contraction use was not merely limited to characters meant to be
identified as uneducated, nor was it strictly contained to informal contexts. Thus he concluded that
contractions may not have been as frowned upon as may have been previously believed.
Despite Gailor's assertions of the early acceptability of contractions (based upon their consistent
usage by play writes), I find it unlikely that this was the case. Even he acknowledges that use of
contractions in literature was a source of complaint for some including Jonathan Swift and that their
use was claimed by Partridge in 1964 to have been banned by school instructors.
Haughland's 1995 article provides a brief history of contraction use since their first appearance
in the sixteenth century. Her article allows for a much wider definition of contraction which includes
contractions of single words (such as lov'd) as well as contractions of two words (in the more
contemporary definition of the word). Her analysis of grammars and spelling books allows for a more
complete view of the prestige or lack-thereof associated with contractions through time. Moving from
a form which, at some times was considered formal in register to a form outright disgusted by some.
While the article is limited in its applications to the topic of this study, it allows for a generalized
background of a form which has fallen in and out of prestige over time and provided some possible
explanations for this fluctuating status (most often, contempt seems to be founded in a belief that
contractions are offensive sounding in their removal of vowels and clustering of consonants).
Furthermore, Haughland indicates that there were some instances in which contractions were tolerated
if they could not be fully accepted (as in poetry or less formal occasions). Her history can illuminate

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some trends which may contribute to the prestige or lack thereof of contractions as used in modern
speech.
In his 1998 paper, Kjellmer examined factors which contribute to contraction use, relegating
them along a positive-to-negative continuum based on whether such factors encouraged or inhibited the
use of contraction. Under the assumption that combinations of factors must be observed in order to
predict those conditions which lend themselves to the use (or lack thereof) of contractions, Kjellmer
analyzed the Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen Corpus (the LOB Corpus) for instances of contraction use. In
his study, Kjellmer focused solely on the presence or absence of contraction, though he did examine
verb and not-contraction independently. It was discovered that, indeed, a myriad of factors contribute
to the presence or absence of contraction in the written corpus examined. While this study aims to
focus on spoken speech, Kjellmer's findings remain relevant. As he states, written language can often
reflect trends of spoken language and the factors which he uncovered remain applicable including the
category of the language sample (generally arranged from least to most formal and including such
categories as: religion, popular lore, general fiction, science fiction, etc.), the existence of breaks
(broken into pre-punctuation, pre-intervention, and pre-deletion breaks), predicate complements, and
participles. Furthermore, his work has provided the knowledge of instances where contractions cannot
occur as well as where they must occur, allowing for better analysis of data collected in this study such
that contraction use or disuse is less likely to be falsely attributed to class or gender.
Deckert and Yaeger-Dror examined the use of contracted forms in their 1999 article which
focused on negatives in social disagreement. The paper seeks to analyze negative and contraction use
in speech as the existing research on negatives in conversation simultaneously indicate that negatives
should be made prominent in speech (based upon research which indicates that words which are focal
will be made prominent, regardless of whether other factors might result in the reduction of the word or
words in question (Cutler et al. 1997, as cited in Deckert & Yaeger-Dror, 1999)), but also mitigated as

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speakers prefer agreement over disagreement in conversation to the extent that speech is altered so as to
keep disagreement to a minimum (Schegloff, Jefferson, & Sacks, 1977 as cited in Deckert & YaegerDror, 1999) to the point at which negatives are reduced (Jespersen, 1917 and Horn 1989 as cited in
Deckert & Yaeger-Dror, 1999). The study focused on the variable not in full (ex: I am not), auxiliary
contracted (ex: I'm not) and not-contracted (ex: I ain't) forms. The data analyzed consisted of
phone conversations between family members, phone conversations between strangers, and some other
sources such as news broadcasts. It was found that contractions appeared most often in interactive
registers (generally considered less formal) than they did in informative registers (considered more
formal). Contractions were also used more often in supportive situations while full-forms appeared in
adversarial situations. The research conducted by Deckert and Yaeger-Dror indicates that contraction
use may be tied into formal versus informal registers.
Collectively, the existing literature thus far presented paints a picture of contraction emergence.
Consistently it seems to be indicated that contraction use has been largely reserved for the informal
range of topics and situations while full (non-contracted) forms appear more frequently in formal
registers. This generalization appears true across the board in written literature, at least. Only Deckert
and Yaeger-Dror appear to analyze actual data of spoken word, and even here this general trend appears
to hold constant. This study seeks to further examine contraction use in relation to formal vs. informal
speech to establish if this trend continues to hold true. Furthermore, at least the literature regarding
historical contraction use appears to indicate a level of prestige associated with non-contracted forms.
With the exception of Gailor, those documents focusing on historical contraction use (Brainerd, 1989
and Haughland, 1995) saw indications of clear disapproval of contracted (though, again, it should be
noted that their analysis concerned written language extrapolated to spoken language).
As it applies to gender, contraction has not been studied. However, there are general concepts
surrounding gender and language which have been examined and may shed light on the relationship

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between contraction and gender that this research seeks to uncover. Labov (1990) is well known to
have established correlations between the use of standard forms and women. As Cheshire (2004)
notes, standard is a term generally associated with forms used most often by members of higher
social classes and by any individuals speaking formally. As the work done by Brainerd, Haughland,
Deckert and Yaeger-Dror, and Kjellmer all seem to indicate, non-contracted forms appear to be used
more frequently in formal registers. Extensive research outlining any possible relationships between
contraction use and social class has not, as far as I am aware, been completed which limits the further
application of non-contracted forms as standard. However, as far as formality is concerned it may be
understood that contracted forms represent the non-standard while non-contracted forms represent
the standard. Thus, it is possible that a correlation may be drawn between greater use of noncontracted forms by women and contracted forms by men.
The study proposed here seeks to uncover if such a correlation does, in fact, exist. The
literature has widely ignored contractions in spoken language and along gender lines yet, as explained,
there is reason to believe that relationships between contraction, formality, and gender do exist and
operate in current speech so long as the trends discovered in written language continue to hold in
spoken language as well.

Hypotheses
The primary question of this research is the following: Can contraction use be predicted along
gender lines or by formal register or is it varied freely? Current literature seems to indicate a trend in
contraction use and formality such that, at least as written language is concerned, contractions are seen
more often in informal registers than in formal ones. Understandings of gender and language dynamics
would then suggest that women might also be found to use less contractions than their male

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counterparts as it has been determined that forms of prestige (which may at times constitute forms
utilized in formal registers) are more often used by women. (Labov, 1990).
Positive correlations between spoken language in formal situations and non-contracted forms
would serve to mirror the conclusions made regarding trends in contraction and formality in written
language as discussed above. If further correlations between contraction use and gender do not emerge,
this could call into question the established preconceptions regarding what constitutes as a standard
form or alternatively challenge the existing assumptions surrounding gender and language use.

Research Design
This research will utilize an established corpus of recorded American English speech for
analysis. The corpus in question is the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English (SBCSAE).
The corpus itself consists of 60 recordings of natural speech by American English speakers across the
United States. Identifying information for all speakers has already been removed from the corpus,
insuring the anonymity of all recorded speakers. Recorded subjects vary in almost all regards: age,
location, ethnicity, gender, etc. Furthermore, the data itself consists of conversations which take place
in a wide variety of social situations including at home, in religious contexts, at work, among strangers,
among friends or family, and even among couples. For a complete list of recordings contained within
the SBCSAE, please consult the appendix, item one. The established corpus then provides a variety of
materials which may be organized along a range of informal to formal situations. Furthermore, as
those recorded vary in age, gender, occupation, etc. the corpus allows for broader generalizations
regarding trends in contraction use and gender if any are discovered.
The variable examined is simply the absence or presence of contractions. However, Kjellmer's
1998 study regarding factors which promote or inhibit contraction use will be taken into account.

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Thus, no instances wherein contractions cannot occur as well as where they must occur will not be
identified as viable tokens of the variable as these cannot be seen to be linguistic choices made bythe
speaker in response to the situation (or as a result of their gender).
Also in Kjellmer's study are comprehensive lists of contracted forms. The contracted and noncontracted forms which appear in these lists will serve as the forms of the variable which will be
counted. The use of these lists will allow for consistency between the studies which both seek to align
contraction and formality. Furthermore, the lists themselves are quite comprehensive, including forms
which Kjellmer notes are rarely, if ever used (though they could certainly be conceived and
understood). Kjellmer's lists of contractions appear in the appendix, item two. If any contractions
appear which are not noted in Kjellmer's lists, it will be noted an examined in greater detail.
During analysis, the researcher will listen to the recordings provided in the SBCSA
accompanied by the provided transcripts of the recordings. The following information will be noted
with every viable instances of a contracted or non-contracted form:

The contracted or non-contracted utterance (ex: do not or don't).

Whether or not the contraction appears in one of Kjellmer's lists (and which one).

The gender of the speaker (as determined by information given in the corpus).

The speaker's relationship to the person at whom the utterance is directed (ex: a friend,
stranger, relative, or boss, etc.).

The gender of the person at whom the utterance is directed.

The context of the conversation (ex: a job interview, a conversation over dinner, etc.).

Taking note of this information will most effectively allow the researcher to determine whether
relationships exist between contractions in spoken language and register and/or gender.
Following observation of the collected data, the researcher will arrange the recordings on a

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scale of informal to formal contexts. For the purposes of this part of the research, total amounts of
contraction tokens will be examined in relation to the register of the recording regardless of gender.
This will allow for any correlations between use of contractions and formality to be easily identified.
The complete list of noted tokens will then be separated into four categories: contracted forms
spoken by females, non-contracted forms spoken by females, contracted forms spoken by males, and
non-contracted forms spoken by males. This will enable the researcher to more easily determine any
patterns between contraction use and gender.

Possible Further Inquiry

Though not entirely relevant to the study, the researcher may again divide the recorded tokens
into the following categories: contracted forms directed at females, non-contracted forms directed at
females, contracted forms directed at males, non-contracted forms directed at males, contracted forms
directed at a mixed audience, and non-contracted forms directed at a mixed audience. If determined
useful, the researcher may further divide each of these six categories into two by identifying the gender
of the speaker. While this study seeks primarily to understand any relationships that may exist between
the gender of the speaker and contraction use, the additional observance of any patterns between the
gender of the interlocutor and contraction use may prove interesting for future study in contractions.

Limitations and Delimitations

While an established corpus, it is possible that the SBCSAE may contain an imbalance in male
and female speakers. This may affect the results of the research. Furthermore, as a syntactic linguistic
variable, it is possible that contraction may be difficult to study as no particular topic may encourage

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the use of contractions. It is possible that not enough tokens of the variable may be obtained. If it is
determined that the disparity between the number of male and female speakers is too great and may
compromise the results of the study, and/or if not enough tokens of the variable are available, the
researcher may be obliged to seek out and incorporate additional data in the form of another corpus to
analyze in addition to the SBCSAE.
Furthermore, while this research seeks to apply trends in contraction usage to most speakers of
American English, it is understood that this may be difficult and all identified trends should be taken
with a grain of salt. Further analysis of additional corpora may be necessary to allow for such
generalizations.
The study at hand seeks only to analyze native speakers of American English.

Speakers of

English as a second language may be influenced by linguistic or societal norms associated with their
first language and culture which could, subsequently, affect the results of the study. Expanding the
research to include native speakers of non-American varieties of English was also decided against. By
limiting the research only to American English the researcher has allowed for general trends to be
sought after. As such trends may not exist (though the available literature seems to hint that such trends
may be possible) it was decided that keeping a limited scope would be most beneficial for the purposes
of time. It would be best not to spend extraordinary amounts of time analyzing data for trends that turn
out not to exist.
If such trends are established, future research can benefit from expanding the scope of analyzed
language samples to include additional varieties of English (which would allow one to determine
whether these trends are upheld throughout all speakers of English) as well as speakers of English as a
second language (allowing one to determine whether such trends are affected by influences from a
speaker's native language or culture).

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Significance
The results of this study can illuminate an area of linguistic study which has been largely
neglected by the existing literature: the sociolinguistic distribution of contractions. Furthermore, if
contraction use can be correlated to informal register, the study can expand upon established
sociolinguistic understandings of gender and language. If women are found to use contracted forms
with less frequency than their male counterparts, those notions of standard and nonstandard forms
which, as Cheshire has noted, have been taken for granted (Cheshire, 2004) may be solidified to a
certain degree. That is to say, if the accepted notion is that women utilize standard forms (identified as
those forms used more commonly in formal registers) and non-contracted forms occur most often by
women as well as in formal situations, this established definition of what may be considered standard
is, to a certain degree, confirmed as well.
If relationships between gender and contraction do not exist (but non-contracted forms are still
found to be more common in formal registers), it paves the way for further research in understanding
what may be constituted as a standard as well as the basic notions of gender and language use (if the
notion of a standard is agreed upon, then perhaps the established notions regarding gender should be
reexamined instead).
Lastly, even if no correlations are found, the proposed research has the potential to illuminate
further which sorts of linguistic features may be governed by free variation among speakers. The
research may uncover that certain features are predictable along some extralinguistic factors and not
others and incite further research as to why this may occur and what other linguistic features follow
similar patterns. This can lead to a greater understanding as a whole of what might be expected of
specific types of linguistic variables.

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References

Brainerd, B. (1989). The contractions of not: a historical note. Journal of English Linguistics
22, 176-196.

Cheshire, J. (2004) Sex and Gender in Variationist Research. The Handbook of Language
Variation and Change 17

Deckert, S., & Yaeger-Dror, M. (1999). Disagreement and Contraction: Evidence from a Large
Corpus of American English. Crossroads of Language, Interaction, and Culture, 1, 49-59.

Du Bois, John W., Wallace L. Chafe, Charles Meyer, Sandra A. Thompson, Robert
Englebretson, and Nii Martey. 2000-2005. Santa Barbara corpus of spoken American English,
Parts 1-4. Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium.

Gailor, D. (2011). Early modern English contractions and their relevance to present-day
English. English Today 27, 10-15.

Haugland, K. (1995). Is't allow'd or ain't it? On contraction in early grammars and spelling
books. Studia Neophilologica, 67, 165-184.

Kjellmer, G. (1998). On contraction in modern English. Studia Neophilologica, 69, 155-186.

Retrieved October 24, 2014.

Labov, W. (1990). The intersection of sex and social class in the course of linguistic change.
Language Variation and Change 2, 205-254.

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Appendix
Item 1. List of Recordings Contained Within the SBCSAE With a Brief Description
(Item numbers, titles, and descriptions all taken directly from SBCSAE website: http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/research/santa-barbara-corpus)

SBC001 Actual Blacksmithing

This is a conversation recorded in rural Hardin, Montana. Mae Lynne is a student of equine
science, and is the main speaker. She is telling Lenore (a visitor and near stranger) about her
studies. Doris, Mae Lynne's mother, is doing housework, but joins the conversation near the end
to discuss friends of their family.
SBC002 Lambada
After-dinner conversation among four friends in San Francisco, California. Participants are in
their late twenties or early thirties. Harold and Jamie are a married couple, Miles is a doctor, and
Pete is a graduate student from Southern California.
SBC003 Conceptual Pesticides
A conversation among three friends who are preparing dinner together, recorded in Southern
California. Roy and Marilyn are a married couple, and Pete is a friend visiting from out of town.
All participants are in their early thirties.
SBC004 Raging Bureaucracy
Family conversation recorded in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The primary participants are three
sisters all in their twenties.
SBC005 A Book About Death
A conversation between a couple who are lying in bed, recorded in Santa Barbara, California.
SBC006 Cuz
A very lively interaction between two female cousins in their mid-thirties, recorded in Los
Angeles, California.
SBC007 A Tree's Life
Late-night conversation between two sisters, recorded in Montana.
SBC008 Tell the Jury that
Task related interaction--an attorney preparing two witnesses to testify in a criminal trial.
Recorded in San Francisco, California. Rebecca is a lawyer, June and Rickie are the witnesses,
and Arnold is Rickie's husband.

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SBC009 Zero Equals Zero
Task-related talk, a teenage couple recorded in Mobile, Alabama. Kathy is helping her boyfriend
Nathan prepare for a math test.
SBC010 Letter of Concerns
A business conversation recorded in New Mexico. Brad and Phil are board members of a local
arts society. Phil wants to talk business, while Brad keeps trying to leave to pick up his wife
who's waiting for him at a bookstore.
SBC011 This Retirement Bit
A conversation among three friends before lunch, recorded in Tucson, Arizona. All three
participants are retired women; Samantha (Sam) is 72, Doris is 83, and Angela is 90.
SBC012 American Democracy is Dying
University lecture, recorded in Riverside, California. This is a Chicano Studies class; the
professor is the primary participant, although it is a small, summer school class, and nine
members of the class occasionally interact.
SBC013 Appease the Monster
This is a family conversation/birthday party, recorded in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The five
participants are family members: Kendra (the birthday girl) and Kevin are siblings, Ken and
Marci are their parents, and Wendy is Kevin's wife. This segment is highly interactional and
contains a lot of overlap.
SBC014 Bank Products
Task related talkthis is a loan officers meeting, recorded in a bank in a small town in rural
southern Illinois. Joe and Fred are loan officers working for the bank. Jim is the president of the
bank, and Kurt is a board member.
SBC015 Deadly Diseases
A conversation among three friends, recorded in Los Angeles, California. Ken and Joanne are a
couple, and Lenore is a friend of theirs.
SBC016 Tapedeck
A sales encounter, recorded in an audio store in Santa Barbara. Tammy is planning to buy a new
tape deck. Brad, a salesman at the audio store, is discussing various tape decks which he is
trying to sell her.
SBC017 Wonderful Abstract Notions
A conversation between two male friends, recorded in Southern California.

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SBC018 Vet Morning
A task-related interaction recorded in a veterinarian office near Madison, Wisconsin. All five
participants work in the office, some as secretaries and assistants and some as veterinarians.
SBC019 Doesn't Work in this Household
A family conversation, recorded in Michigan. Frank and Jan (a married couple) are talking with
Ron--Jan's brother who is visiting from California. Brett and Melissa are Frank and Jan's juniorhigh-age children, who are doing homework and also taking part in the conversation.
SBC020 God's Love
A segment from a sermon/lecture recorded at a small conference near Chicago, Illinois. The
speaker is a pastor in his mid seventies.
SBC021 Fear
A segment from a rather lively sermon recorded in Boston, Massachusetts.
SBC022 Runway Heading
Task-related interaction, recorded in an air traffic control tower in Portland, Oregon. Lance is
training to be an air traffic controller, and has just finished working a shift. Randy, an
experienced controller, is giving Lance feedback/briefing on his performance on that shift
SBC023 Howard's End
A segment from a book discussion group, recorded in Topeka, Kansas. The eleven participants
are all women between the ages of 46 and 85.
SBC024 Risk
This segment consists of game-playing and game-teaching on a computer, and was recorded
near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Jennifer and Dan are a couple in their early twenties.
SBC025 The Egg which Luther Hatched
This is a segment from a lecture on the history and theology of Martin Luther, part of an
evening class held at a church, recorded in Delaware.
SBC026 Hundred Million Dollars
This is a city meeting, recorded in Chicago, Illinois. City officials interact with the public about
a government grant which is being applied for, to fund community development. The city can
only apply once, so are soliciting applications from various organizations and will submit the
one they judge as best.

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SBC027 Atoms Hanging Out
An entertaining science lecture and demonstration, recorded at a large public science museum in
Chicago, Illinois.
SBC028 Hey Cutie Pie
A very intimate long-distance telephone conversation between a romantic couple in their early
twenties, which took place between Pennsylvania and California.
SBC029 Ancient Furnace
This is a business conversation recorded in Northern California between Seth and Larry, who
are meeting for the first time. Seth works as an engineer who designs, installs, and sells heating
and air conditioning units. Larry has invited him to his home to give him an estimate.
SBC030 Vision
A segment from a sermon, recorded at a large Baptist church in Chicago, Illinois.
SBC031 Tastes Very Special
Face-to-face conversation recorded in a restaurant in Pullman, Washington. Sherry and Beth are
sisters (in their late twenties), and Rosemary is their mother. The participants discuss what to
order for lunch, interact with the waitress (Jamie) and engage in talk about family and friends
while waiting for their food.
SBC032 Handshakes All Around
A face-to-face conversation that takes place at an outdoor neighborhood 'block party' in Santa
Fe, New Mexico. The three main participants are neighbors, age 60 and upward, all of whom
happen to be named Tom. Discussion centers on life histories, World War II experiences, and
neighborhood gossip. The three are briefly joined by Tucker (the daughter of Tom_1), and
Elaine (the wife of Tom_3).
SBC033 Guilt
A lively family argument/discussion recorded at a vacation home in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
There are eight participants, all relatives or close friends. Discussion centers around a
disagreement Jennifer (age 23) is having with her mother (Lisbeth).
SBC034 What Time is it Now?
A late-night face-to-face conversation recorded in Northampton, Massachusetts. Participants are
a married couple (Karen and Scott) in their early twenties. Karen has just returned home from
work, and the two are talking while winding down for the evening.

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SBC035 Hold my Breath
Lively family argument/discussion recorded in the kitchen of a family home in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
SBC036 Judgmental on People
Face-to-face conversation recorded in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There are three participants
and a baby. Lisa and Kevin are siblings, Marie (the baby's mother) is a friend of Lisa's. Much of
the speech event focuses on interaction with, and talk about, the baby, as well as gossip about
friends and co-workers.
SBC037 Very Good Tamales
Informal, task-related (cooking) talk recorded in the kitchen of a family home in Corpus Christi,
Texas. A family is making tamales. Main participants are Julia (an 80-year-old woman), her
daughter (Dolores), and grandson (Shane). They are briefly joined by Kate (Shane's sister) who
is watching TV in another room. The segment contains occasional codeswitching
(English/Spanish).
SBC038 Good Strong Dam
This segment is part of a tour of Hoover Dam, on the Nevada-Arizona border. The presentation
is highly practiced. The main speaker also answers audience questions.
SBC039 Pretty Busy Bird
Task-related talk, a training meeting recorded at an aquarium in Chicago, Illinois.
SBC040 Beaten on a Regular Basis
Scripted tour of the Kentucky Horse Park / Museum. Presenter also addresses questions from
the audience.
SBC041 X Units of Insulin
Medical interaction recorded in Southern California. A patient (Paige) is consulting with her
dietician (Kristen) regarding management of diabetes.
SBC042 Stay out of It
Family argument and task-related talk, recorded in Pasco, Washington. The recording begins in
a car, and moves to the kitchen of a family home. Main participants are three teenage sisters
(Sabrina, Kendra, and Marlena), their mother (Kitty), and step-father (Curt). A friend of
Sabrina's (Gemini) is also present. The dispute centers around Kitty's belief that Kendra stayed
the night at a friend's house without permission, something which Kendra denies having done.
Argument and shouting is interspersed with Saturday-morning housekeeping chores such as
doing dishes and laundry.

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SBC043 Try a Couple Spoonfuls
Face-to-face conversation recorded in the living room of a private home in Boise, Idaho,
between Alice (a nurse, age 49) and her daughter Annette (a student and bank employee, age
24). Topics center mostly on their work day, as well as mutual acquaintances.
SBC044 He Knows
Face-to-face conversation recorded in the living room of a private home in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Two friends (Cam and Lajuan) are talking about their families and friends, and their
own experiences as gay men.
SBC045 The Classic Hooker
Face-to-face conversation recorded in the living room of an apartment in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Two friends (Corinna and Patrick) are talking and watching TV. Topics are at times
rather raunchy.
SBC046 Flumpity-Bump Down the Hill
Medical interaction, recorded in Shreveport, Louisiana. A patient (Darren) is consulting with his
orthopedist (Reed) regarding a knee injury from a recent skiing accident.
SBC047 On the Lot
Face-to-face conversation between two cousins (Fred and Richard) in their early thirties,
recorded in a private home in east Los Angeles, California. Topics include Richard's new job
selling cars, Fred's frustration with factory work, and Richard's recent breakup with his
girlfriend.
SBC048 Mickey Mouse Watch
Christmas morning traditions and gift-exchange among family members, recorded in Fresno,
California. Tim and Lea are a couple in their late fifties, Judy is their daughter, and Dan is
Judy's boyfriend.
SBC049 Noise Pollution
Face-to-face conversation recorded at an outdoor family birthday party near Boston,
Massachusetts. There are ten speakers, all related. Four siblings in their mid thirties to mid
forties: Dan, Al, Lucy, and Annette. Allen (Sr.), age 76, is their father. Al and Annette are twins.
Linda is Al's wife, John is Annette's husband. Dave and Jane are Al and Linda's children. Glen is
Lucy's son. Topics center primarily on recent renovations to Lucy's home.
SBC050 Just Wanna Hang
Face-to-face conversation among four roommates, recorded in a shared apartment in
Burlington, Vermont. Speakers are all students at the University of Vermont, women ages 20-21.
Speakers engage in small-talk, make plans for the evening, and discuss household matters.

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SBC051 New Yorkers Anonymous
Conversation recorded before and during dinner, in a private home in Laguna Beach, California.
There are four speakers, ranging in age from mid forties to early fifties. Sean and Bernard are a
couple, Fran is a long-time friend visiting from New York. Alice is also a friend of Sean and
Bernard, but had never met Fran. Discussion focuses on travels, and reminiscing about New
York City.
SBC052 Oh You Need a Breadbox
Phone conversation between family members at Christmas. Andrew and Cindy, a couple in their
mid forties in Albuquerque, NM, are calling Andrew's sisters in San Antonio, Texas. Discussion
centers primarily on Christmas and Christmas gifts, and topics prompted by recent television
news shows.
SBC053 I Will Appeal
Task-related talk recorded in a small claims court in Santa Barbara, California. This segment
consists of a judge pro tem hearing and deciding two cases.
SBC054 'That's Good', Said Tiger
Public storytelling event recorded after a church potluck in Chicago, Illinois. The speaker, a
professional storyteller in her mid forties, tells several stories and interacts with the audience.
SBC055 The Mama of Dada
Public lecture/forum in Santa Barbara, California. Noted artist and ceramist Beatrice Wood
gives a public lecture at the Santa Barbra Museum of Art, shortly after her 101st birthday. Wood
talks about her life and answers audience questions.
SBC056 What is a Brand Inspection?
Face-to-face conversation recorded on a ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Julie has
recently bought a pony from Gary's wife, and is giving him a bill-of-sale. She then gives a brief
tour of her property and barn.
SBC057 Throw Me
Task-related talk, a recording of a judo class in Shreveport, Louisiana. The five students and
their instructor are males between the ages of 22 and 37. The instructor is demonstrating and
coaching the Hane-Makikomi throw, which students are practicing with varying degrees of
success.
SBC058 Swingin' Kid
Face-to-face conversation recorded in a private home in Boise, Idaho. Sheri, a single mom in
her mid thirties, and her son Steven (age 11) talk while Sheri prepares dinner

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SBC059 You Baked
Face-to-face conversation, recorded in a family home near Beloit, Wisconsin on Christmas Eve.
Cam and Fred are a couple in their early thirties. Jo and Wess are Cam's parents. Topics include
talk about family and friends, a football game which Wess and Fred had just finished watching,
and holiday baking.
SBC060 Shaggy Dog Story
Face-to-face casual conversation recorded in an office in Shreveport, Louisiana. The two
speakers, Jon (age 72) and Alan (age 66) are friends/co-workers taking a break from work. Alan
is primarily telling Jon about his travel adventures and interests.

Item 2: Lists of Contractions (as appear in Kjellmer, 1998)

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