The token file

After having gathered the necessary data, the analyst must create a token file, by coding the data for a number of different factors. To create a file, go to File choose New and name your document (i.e “Nepean.Tok”). A window similar to the one in Figure 1 will appear. Aside from a single open parenthesis, this document will be empty. The user must now enter the tokens according to their codings and combine each string so that it fits the respective variable context. The file “Nepean.Tok”, which is displayed in Figure 1 represents data regarding the variable -enmas, which is the Nepean plural marker. The various factors are coded as follows:

• Each line containing data information must begin with an open parenthesis: (
• The “1”'s and “0”'s in the first column indicate the presence or absence of the plural marker and represent the dependent variable, as they stand for the feature under investigation.
• “a”, “n”, and “d” as well as “c” and “s” are the codes for certain categories within two different factor groups: “a”, “n”, and “d” refer to the grammatical category (adjective, noun or determiner), while “c” and “s” represent the token's phrase type (object noun phrase or subject noun phrase).

These factors are then combined into coding strings according to the respective variable context.

In addition to the tokens the user must also enter the factor specifications into the factor specification box beneath the token file. For more detail on what to consider when arranging the factor specifications please see the online manual.

After the tokens as well as the specifications have been entered, the user must select Choose tokens from the Tokens menu. This step will check whether the tokens have been entered correctly (cf. Tagliamonte 2006: 159).

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