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Getting off the GoldVarb Standard: Introducing Rbrul for Mixed-Effects Variable Rule Analysis
Article first published online: 15 DEC 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00108.x
© 2008 The Author. Journal Compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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How to Cite
Johnson, D. E. (2009), Getting off the GoldVarb Standard: Introducing Rbrul for Mixed-Effects Variable Rule Analysis. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3: 359–383. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00108.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 2 FEB 2009
- Article first published online: 15 DEC 2008
- Language and Linguistics Compass 3/1 (2009): 359–383, 10.1111/j.1749-818x.2008.00108.x
- Abstract
- Article
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- Cited By
Abstract
The variable rule program is one of the predominant data analysis tools used in sociolinguistics, employed successfully for over three decades to quantitatively assess the influence of multiple factors on linguistic variables. However, its most popular current version, GoldVarb, lacks flexibility and also isolates its users from the wider community of quantitative linguists. A new version of the variable rule program, Rbrul, attempts to resolve these concerns, and with mixed-effects modelling also addresses a more serious problem whereby GoldVarb overestimates the significance of effects. Rbrul's superior performance is demonstrated on both simulated and real data sets.