The way a community speaks can change gradually through countless ordinary conversations. Younger spea sometimes ad unfamiliar expre because soc contacts intr alternative fo that ca useful mean within chan networks o everyday communication. A form may become common in one group without spreading to everyone nearby. Its use can signal a connection with friends or a particular setting. Researchers therefore examine who uses an expression and when, rather than assuming that all members of a region speak alike. Variation within a community is part of the evidence, not simply noise to remove.

Type only the missing letters. Each box is one letter, and the number of boxes matches the letters that are missing.