Reversing the trajectory of language change: Subject–verb agreement with be in New Zealand English

Hay, Jennifer; Schreier, Daniel

doi:10.1017/s0954394504163047

Cited by 73 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For instance, Tagliamonte (1998) indicates that the presence of sentence negation disfavors the absence of agreement. This is also the effect that is generally documented in the U.S. (Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012), but in New Zealand English polarity does not seem to constrain the variation (Hay & Schreier 2004). In turn, for tense, contractedness, and distance, similar results have been documented in English worldwide: the present tense, the full forms of to be, and shorter distances between to be and its noun favor agreement over its absence (e.g., Hay & Schreier 2004;Crawford 2005;Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012).…”

Section: (9)supporting

confidence: 66%

“…This is also the effect that is generally documented in the U.S. (Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012), but in New Zealand English polarity does not seem to constrain the variation (Hay & Schreier 2004). In turn, for tense, contractedness, and distance, similar results have been documented in English worldwide: the present tense, the full forms of to be, and shorter distances between to be and its noun favor agreement over its absence (e.g., Hay & Schreier 2004;Crawford 2005;Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012). As for the language-external covariates of this alternation, research supports that non-agreement is more common in informal registers and appears to correspond to an ongoing change towards non-agreement ( Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012).…”

Section: (9)mentioning

confidence: 57%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Probabilistic Grammar: The view from Cognitive Sociolinguistics

Claes

2017

Volume 2

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, I propose that Probabilistic Grammar may benefit from incorporating theoretical insights from Cognitive (Socio)Linguistics. I begin by introducing Cognitive Linguistics. Then, I propose a model of the domain-general cognitive constraints (markedness of coding, statistical preemption, and structural priming) that condition language (variation). Subsequently, three case studies are presented that test the predictions of this model on three distinct alternations in English and Spanish (variable agreement with existential haber, variable agreement with existential there be, and Spanish subject pronoun expression). For each case study, the model generates empirically correct predictions. I conclude that, with the support of Cognitive Sociolinguistics, Probabilistic Grammar may move beyond description towards explanation. This article is part of the special collection: Probabilistic grammars: Syntactic variation in a comparative perspective

show abstract

Section: (9)supporting

confidence: 66%

Section: (9)mentioning

confidence: 57%

Probabilistic Grammar: The view from Cognitive Sociolinguistics

Claes

2017

Volume 2

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example Hay and Schreier (2004) demonstrate that the use of singular concord in existential constructions declined in NZ until around 1900, and then steadily increased, and is relatively common today. Gordon et al (2004) and Schreier et al (2004) show that the use of [hw] in words like which and whistle increased in early New Zealand English, and then reversed its trajectory around 1900.…”

Section: The Give Model Across Timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, dialects frequently undergo syntactic change, where the usage of a particular variant dramatically increases or decreases (see e.g. Hay and Schreier 2004 for changing verb agreement patterns in New Zealand English). A probabilistic, usage-based approach to grammar is able to account for such variation by assuming that different communities differ in the types and frequencies of the constructions that they are exposed to.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gradient grammar: An effect of animacy on the syntax of give in New Zealand and American English

Bresnan

Hay

2008

Lingua

Self Cite

217

124

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bresnan et al. (2007) show that a statistical model can predict United States (US) English speakers' syntactic choices with 'give'-type verbs extremely accurately. They argue that these results are consistent with probabilistic models of grammar, which assume that grammar is quantitive, and learned from exposure to other speakers. Such a model would also predict syntactic differences across time and space which are reflected not only in the use of clear dialectal features or clear-cut changes in progress, but also in subtle factors such as the relative importance of conditioning factors, and changes over time in speakers' preferences between equally well-formed variants. This paper investigates these predictions by comparing the grammar of phrases involving 'give' in New Zealand (NZ) and US English. We find that the grammar developed by Bresnan et al. for US English generalizes remarkably well to NZ English. NZ English is, however, subtly different, in that NZ English speakers appear to be more sensitive to the role of animacy. Further, we investigate changes over time in NZ English and find that the overall behavior of 'give' phrases has subtly shifted. We argue that these subtle differences in space and time provide support for the gradient nature of grammar, and are consistent with usage-based, probabilistic syntactic models.

show abstract

“…Feagin 1979;Eisikovits 1991;Meechan & Foley 1994; Britain & Sudbury 2002;Hay & Schreier 2004;Rupp 2005;Walker 2007; Cheshire & Fox 2009), as well as our preliminary analyses of the variation in the Bequia corpus. These factor groups are outlined in (6)-(9), with an example provided for each factor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

An existential problem: The sociolinguistic monitor and variation in existential constructions on Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Meyerhoff¹,

Walker²

2013

Lang. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Existential constructions in a corpus of spontaneous English from Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) are used to explore a linguistic problem (Is variation in verb form in existential constructions best viewed as grammatical or lexical?) and a sociolinguistic problem (What aspects of variation change over a lifetime?). We compare "urban sojourners" (Bequians who have been away) with their home village norms. We observe differences in the frequency of the TYPE of existential preferred in different villages and by the urban sojourners. We also observe differences in whether or not the main verb agrees in number with a postposed plural subject. Building on William Labov's early discussions of constraints on variation imposed by the "sociolinguistic monitor," we suggest that variation in individual speakers supports the notion that variables that are fundamentally grammatical are less likely to mark social factors than lexical variables are. (Bequia, Caribbean English, existentials, subject-verb agreement)* I N T R O D U C T I O NExistential constructions are a topic of special interest to linguists because of their implications for theories of subject-verb agreement (e.g. Chomsky 1995; van Gelderen 1997). The examples in (1) and (2) demonstrate variation in (what we initially call) agreement in different existential constructions in the English-based varieties spoken on the island of Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) in the Eastern Caribbean (see Figure 1). Existential BE may occur as morphologically singular (1a-c) or plural (2a-b), with standard (1a, 2a) or nonstandard (1b-c, 2b) agreement with

show abstract

Reversing the trajectory of language change: Subject–verb agreement with be in New Zealand English

Cited by 73 publications

References 20 publications

Probabilistic Grammar: The view from Cognitive Sociolinguistics

Probabilistic Grammar: The view from Cognitive Sociolinguistics

Gradient grammar: An effect of animacy on the syntax of give in New Zealand and American English

An existential problem: The sociolinguistic monitor and variation in existential constructions on Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About