Towards a comprehensive view of variation in language: The absolute variable

This paper discusses how variation theory could be developed and refined through the explicit incorporation of absolute variables alongside the usual relative ones. Aside from analyzing the relative occurrence rates of supposed alternatives, the calculation of the overall frequency of any linguistic feature against some independent measure (such as the word number of texts) can be scientifically revealing. Most importantly, the latter procedure seems well-suited to a comprehensive conception of language use, i.e. not as a succession of choices among possible forms, but rather as the more intricate process of constructing discourse as a complex of form and meaning.

► Language is not only structure, but also a dynamic construction process. ► Tradition in linguistic variation has resulted in limited views of human communication. ► Every linguistic choice is necessarily meaningful. ► Absolute variables involve the parallel construction of form and meaning.