social variation in the dialects of karbala and baghdad: a comparative study of urban and rural populations

This paper explored how social variables such as gender, education, and age influence linguistic variation between the speech communities of karbala and baghdad. the study examined phonological, syntactic, and semantic variations within these communities, using a sociolinguistic lens. a total of 192 participants were selected, stratified by gender, age, education, and region, with data collected through sociolinguistic interviews. the results indicated that gender and education significantly impact the phonological features, while age influenced syntactic patterns. the study’s findings provide valuable understanding about the complex dynamics of linguistic variation in iraq, offering new perspectives on the role of social factors in shaping local dialects. these results are consistent with previous sociolinguistic studies, yet they offer distinct contributions to our understanding of iraqi dialectology.