Third wave variationists have recognized the complexity of age as a sociolinguistic variable (Eckert 1997), where theorized patterns like age-grading do not always correlate with a linear progression of change; instead, scholars hypothesize a u-shaped curve shaped by normative pressures within the linguistic marketplace (Sankoff and Blondeau 2007; Bourdieu and Boltanski 1975). Importantly, we lack a deeper understanding of how these pressures impact perception as (vernacular) speakers are perceived at different life stages.

To address this conundrum, this thesis explores age effects on the variable (ing) across sociolinguistic panel (and trend) data from two production and two perception studies on Tyneside English. By utilizing panel data across the entire adultlifespan, this research tracks the socially contingent nature and perceptual underpinnings nature of the u-shaped curve within individual speakers, which has hitherto only been hypothesized. This thesis further highlights the instrumental role of age-based and gender-based stereotypes, both for speakers and listeners, in shaping linguistic variation. Ultimately, my thesis contributes novel insights into how age shapes both perception and production of linguistic variation, provided we consider age in all its sociolinguistic complexities (Hejná and Jespersen 2022). This will help us move forward in constructing an age-based sociology of the lifespan.