Syntactic Distinctions Within Present Day English

Syntactic Distinctions Within Present Day English

Author: Emel Deyneli

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2007-09

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13: 3638777413

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2 (B), University of Marburg (Anglistics), course: Advanced Seminar in English Linguistiks, 7 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: A national variety is a variety of a language (as native language or second language) which is characteristic for a specific country.1 This term is necessary to keep in mind for the description of linguistic situations in anglophone countries. English has spread over many countries as no other language had done before. The English language is spoken at present as a native language by approximately 270 million speakers spread over four continents. The number of speakers of English as a second language is estimated to be around 135 million.2 The number of English speakers is consistently increasing. Nearly all of the English speakers have regional features in the way they speak English. The majority of the population speak in a manner which identifies them as coming from a particular place.The English language consists of the sum of all its dialects, not of one correct version and a number of substandard varieties.3 But even if Standard English is defined as one dialect among many, it is no longer a regional dialect. It has spread throughout the world as the educated variety of English. It is natural that people may regard dialects as imperfect versions of English. This term paper tries to examine several linguistic varieties in England in comparison to Standard English. The present discussion will be limited to Standard British English. The discussion about the linguistic varieties, which includes their grammar in general, will consistently be contrasted with the standard syntactic pattern in Standard British English. Before that a short overview about some of the peculiarities of Standard British and Standard American English in the fields of spelling, vocabulary and grammar will be given in detail.


Gender Differences in English Syntax

Gender Differences in English Syntax

Author: Britta Mondorf

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2011-07-11

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 3110943379

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What factors govern women's and men's use of syntactic alternatives? This is the central issue explored in the present volume, which provides the most comprehensive account so far of gender differences in syntax. By drawing on the theoretical frameworks of functional grammar (cf. Givón 1984, 1990), cognitive semantics and pragmatics, the book is able to show that the underlying characteristic of syntactic constructions that are sensitive to gender lies in their ability to encode epistemic meaning. Paying due attention to the closely intertwined relation between gender and a range of internal and external determinants, the present volume shows how apparently contradictory results in previous research can be reconciled. The internal and external factors investigated are: semantic type, position, intonation, pragmatic function - style, power, surreptitiousness, group composition. The Labovian 'Vanguard of Change' and 'Linguistic Conformity of Women' Principles (Labov 2001) are supplemented by an 'Epistemic Modality Principle' (stating that women are more prolific users of epistemic downtoners than men) and a 'Turn-Allocation Principle' (assessing that women use more completion signals than men in the negotiation of floor-apportionment). These principles are crucial in paving the ground for an explanation of gender differences in language. This volume is essential reading for those interested in language and gender and in how functionalism can be brought to bear in illuminating language structure and use.


Late Modern English Syntax

Late Modern English Syntax

Author: Marianne Hundt

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-08-14

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1107032792

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Using increasingly sophisticated databases, this volume explores grammatical usage from the Late Modern period in a broad context.


Towards a Derivational Syntax

Towards a Derivational Syntax

Author: Michael T. Putnam

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 902725527X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume explores recent advancements in the Minimalist Program that adopt Stroik s (1999, 2009) Survive Principle as the principle means of accounting for displacement phenomena in earlier versions of generative theory. These contributions bring to light many advantages and challenges that beset the Survive-minimalist framework, including topics such as the lexicon-syntax relationship, coordinate symmetries, scope, ellipsis, code-switching, and probe-goal relations. Despite the diverse, broad range of topics discussed in this volume, the papers are connected by a renewed investigation of Frampton & Gutmann s (2002) vision of a crash-proof syntax. This volume provides new and interesting perspectives on theoretical issues that have challenged the Minimalist Program since its inception and will provide ample food for thought for syntacticians working in the Minimalist tradition and beyond."


Syntactic Structures

Syntactic Structures

Author: Noam Chomsky

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-05-18

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 3112316002

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

No detailed description available for "Syntactic Structures".


The syntax of early English

The syntax of early English

Author: Olga Fischer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 9780521556262

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is a guide to the development of English syntax between the Old and Modern periods. Beginning with an overview of the main features of early English syntax, it gives a unified account of the significant grammatical changes that occurred during this period. Four leading experts demonstrate how these changes can be explained in terms of grammatical theory and the theory of language acquisition. Drawing on a wealth of empirical data, the book covers a wide range of topics including changes in word order, infinitival constructions and grammaticalization processes.


Historical English Syntax

Historical English Syntax

Author: Dieter Kastovsky

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2011-11-21

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 3110863316

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies, which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics. For further publications in English linguistics see also our Dialects of English book series. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher.


Syntactic Variation

Syntactic Variation

Author: Roberta D'Alessandro

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-07-19

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781107404878

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book was first published in 2010. The study of Romance languages can tell us a great deal about sentence structure and its variation in general. Focusing on the dialects of Italy - including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily - the authors explore three thematic areas: the nominal domain, the verbal domain and the left periphery of the clause. The book gives fresh attention to the dialects, arguing that they offer an unprecedented degree of variation (not found, for example, in Germanic languages). Analysing a host of data, the authors show how the dialects can be used as a test-bed for investigating and challenging received ideas about language structure and change. Coherent and wide-ranging, this is a vital resource for those working in syntactic theory, historical linguistics and Romance languages.