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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2013

Peter Siemund
Peter Siemund
Affiliation:
Universität Hamburg
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Summary

Background and aims

The present book aims to introduce the student of English and general linguistics to the fascinating world of morphosyntactic variation that can be encountered across varieties of English spoken around the world. At the same time, it presents and interprets the instances of structural variation found in English in the context of cross-linguistic variation, as discussed in typological studies of language. The book, thus, intends to build a bridge from sociolinguistics and variation studies to language typology.

Let me illustrate my general approach using a prominent example of morphosyntactic variation. Many regional, especially spoken or vernacular, varieties of English allow multiple negation of the type shown in the examples below.

  1. (1) a. I couldn't find hardly none on ’em. ‘I could not find hardly any on them.’ [East Anglia, Trudgill 2004: 151]

  2. b. We didn't have no use for it noways. ‘We had no use for it in any way.’ [Appalachian English, Montgomery 2004: 258]

  3. c. I don't want no dinner. ‘I want no dinner.’ [Newfoundland English, Clarke 2004: 310]

  4. d. You've not heard of that nothing? ‘You haven't heard of that?’ [Irish English, Filppula 2004: 82]

  5. e. I couldn't see no snake. ‘I couldn't see a snake.’ [Australian Vernacular English, Pawley 2004: 634]

  6. f. Mi no bin toktok nating. ‘I didn't talk at all.’ [Bislama, Crowley 2004: 690]

  7. g. They didn't have no shirt. ‘They had no shirt.’ [Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English, Malcolm 2004: 670]

Type
Chapter
Information
Varieties of English
A Typological Approach
 , pp. 1 - 22
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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  • Introduction
  • Peter Siemund, Universität Hamburg
  • Book: Varieties of English
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028240.002
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  • Introduction
  • Peter Siemund, Universität Hamburg
  • Book: Varieties of English
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028240.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Peter Siemund, Universität Hamburg
  • Book: Varieties of English
  • Online publication: 05 May 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028240.002
Available formats
×