The sociolinguistic constraints on the quotative system : British English and US English compared
The recent advent and rapid spread of two new vernacular options, <i>go</i> and <i>like, </i>within the (say) variable has attracted a growing body of research in variationist sociolinguists. This thesis examines the synchronic functions of these new quotatives and considers pragmatic, discourse, and social factors. The investigation is based on an analysis of very large corpora of spontaneous spoken British and American English. This cross-variety comparison gives me the opportunity (i) to investigate a case of rapid language change that is happening concurrently with the time of research and (ii) to consider to what extent social and linguistic constraints hold globally. A variationist study of the constraints which govern the quotative system is valuable for the following reasons: By investigating the patterning of the (say) variable as a whole, we gain insights into the rule-governed variability of innovative features and their rival variants (<i>say, tell, think, cry,... </i>). A look at the entire quotative system reveals the intimate interplay of competing choices within the (say) variable. My project aims at understanding how the system as a whole reacts to the intrusion of newcomer variants. A sharply
Buchstaller, Isabelle
The sociolinguistic constraints on the quotative system : British English and US English compared. The recent advent and rapid spread of two new vernacular options, <i>go</i> and <i>like, </i>within the (say) variable has attracted a growing body of research in variationist sociolinguists. This thesis examines the synchronic functions of these new quotatives and considers pragmatic, discourse, and social factors. The investigation is based on an analysis of very large corpora of spontaneous spoken British and American English. This cross-variety comparison gives me the opportunity (i) to investigate a case of rapid language change that is happening concurrently with the time of research and (ii) to consider to what extent social and linguistic constraints hold globally. A variationist study of the constraints which govern the quotative system is valuable for the following reasons: By investigating the patterning of the (say) variable as a whole, we gain insights into the rule-governed variability of innovative features and their rival variants (<i>say, tell, think, cry,... </i>). A look at the entire quotative system reveals the intimate interplay of competing choices within the (say) variable. My project aims at understanding how the system as a whole reacts to the intrusion of newcomer variants. A sharply
sociolinguistic constraint system british_english english compare recent advent rapid spread new vernacular option like within say variable attract grow_body variationist examines synchronic function new considers pragmatic discourse social_factor investigation base analysis large_corpus spontaneous spoken british_american english cross variety comparison give opportunity_investigate case rapid language_change happen concurrently time consider_extent social linguistic_constraint hold globally variationist study constraint govern system valuable follow reason investigate patterning say variable whole gain_insight rule governed variability innovative feature rival variant say tell think cry look entire system reveals intimate interplay compete choice within say variable project_aim system whole intrusion newcomer variant sharply