The coding of perfect meaning in African, Asian and Caribbean Englishes

Suárez‐Gómez, Cristina

doi:10.1017/s1360674317000508

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…11Although Trinidad, like Jamaica, is ‘difficult to place in the concentric circles’ (Kachru, 1992, p. 362), there is scholarly precedent for treating Caribbean Englishes in general as Outer Circle varieties (Suarez‐Gomez, 2019), or at least Outer Circle adjacent (Nero, 2006). …”

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confidence: 99%

British and American norms in the Trinidadian English lexicon

Wilson

2022

World Englishes

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Previous work on norm orientations in the Caribbean Englishes has focussed largely on phonological norms, such as accents, and, to a lesser extent, grammatical norm orientation. Outside of the publication of dictionaries, however, lexical norms and their spread have received little attention. This paper examines lexical norm orientations in Trinidadian English, presenting the results of a corpus‐based study and survey study of the lexical preferences of speakers of Trinidadian English. The findings suggest that while there is evidence of American influence on Trinidadian lexicon, British variants persist. Indeed, British and American variants often coexist, albeit with different connotations in Trinidadian English. From a methodological standpoint, this paper demonstrates the benefits of using a mixed‐methods approach in looking at norms, particularly with regard to lexicon.

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confidence: 99%

British and American norms in the Trinidadian English lexicon

Wilson

2022

World Englishes

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“…Studies in this vein either focus on a single variety (e.g. Tagliamonte & Poplack 1988;Tagliamonte 1997;Van Herk 2008;Werner & Fuchs 2016;Suárez-Gómez 2019), or take a cross-varietal perspective (e.g. Yao & Collins 2012;Werner 2013Werner , 2014Fuchs 2016).…”

Section: Defining the Variable Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The most stable it'severbeen: the preterit/present perfect alternation in spoken Ontario English

Franco

Tagliamonte²

2022

English Language and Linguistics

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English tense/aspect-marking is an area where variation abounds and where many theories have been formulated. Diachronic studies of the preterit/present perfect alternation indicate that the present perfect (e.g. I have eaten already) has been losing ground to the preterit (e.g. I ate already) (e.g. Elsness 1997, but see Hundt & Smith 2009, Werner 2014). However, few studies have examined this alternation in vernacular speech. This article fills this lacuna by analyzing spoken data from Ontario, Canada, from an apparent-time perspective. Using a large archive of multiple communities and people of different generations, we focus on linguistic contexts known to be variable, viz. with adverbs of indefinite time. Results indicate that, in contrast with previous studies, the alternation is mostly stable. We find evidence of change only with the adverb ever. Where there is evidence of change, this change is different from the predictions in the literature, with the preterit increasing in frequency. We suggest that a minor constructionalization process operates in tandem with ongoing specialization of the preterit/present perfect contrast. Taken together, these results provide another example of the importance of including speech in research on language variation and change and of the unique contribution certain constructions make to more general systems of grammar.

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“…To this end we have selected two high‐frequency grammatical phenomena: (i) the expression of perfect meaning, which exhibits variability between the have + past participle periphrasis, the preterite and other less‐frequently used forms, such as the be + past participle periphrasis, the base form, and the bare past participle (Section 2.1; Seoane & Suárez‐Gómez, 2013; Suárez‐Gómez, 2019); and (ii) relative clauses, with particular focus on the distribution of relativizers (Section 2.2; Suárez‐Gómez, 2014, 2017, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prescriptive grammar establishes the periphrastic construction have + past participle, as in example (1), as the expected form to express the present perfect. However, research within the corpus‐linguistics tradition shows that other forms such as the preterite (2) are commonly attested in contemporary English to express the same meaning, both in native and non‐native varieties (Davydova, 2011; Elsness, 1997, 2009; Hundt & Smith, 2009; Kirk, 2009; Miller, 2000, 2004; Yao & Collins, 2012; Suárez‐Gómez, 2019; Seoane & Suárez‐Gómez, 2013; Werner, 2014; to name just a few). Such variability in the expression of perfect meaning is also attested in the history of the English language (Rissanen, 1999, p. 224–225).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of age and gender in grammatical variation in world Englishes

Suárez‐Gómez

Seoane

2021

World Englishes

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Young speakers and women have been identified as leaders of language change in the English language. However, sociolinguistic studies addressing grammatical variation according to the age and gender of speakers are infrequent in world Englishes mainly due to the dearth of corpora with explicit detailed metadata. In this paper we explore the effect of these two factors on language innovation and creativity as represented in the International Corpus of English (ICE). For that purpose, we have selected two high-frequency grammatical phenomena: (i) the expression of perfect meaning, which exhibits variability between different forms; and (ii) relative clauses, with variation in the use of relativizers. A preliminary analysis of the variable age shows that young speakers behave differently as regards both the expression of perfect meaning and the choice of relativizers. With this study we hope to contribute to this still small but growing body of sociolinguistic research on grammatical variation in world Englishes. INTRODUCTIONResearch addressing the sociological variables of age and gender in language emerged in the 1960s. Both of these variables have come to be considered as playing key roles in language change (Labov, 1994), with correlations between them and particular patterns of use in non-standard language having been observed in numerous studies looking at spontaneous speech. Early work focused on linguistic differences at the phonological level, but soon extended to lexis, discourse and morphosyntax. With respect to age, research has shown variation in speech production according to the age of speakers (Labov, 1994). Thus, the youngest generations (teenagers) are considered language innovators, 'the movers and shakers of language change' (Tagliamonte, 2016, p. xiv), and also resort most frequently to non-standard variants, given that this is the age 'when peer group pressure not to conform to society's norms is greatest' (Holmes,

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The coding of perfect meaning in African, Asian and Caribbean Englishes

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

British and American norms in the Trinidadian English lexicon

British and American norms in the Trinidadian English lexicon

The most stable it'severbeen: the preterit/present perfect alternation in spoken Ontario English

The role of age and gender in grammatical variation in world Englishes

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