An apparent time study of the progressive in Nigerian English
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Robert Fuchs
Abstract
This study explores the use of the progressive in Nigerian English in apparent time and investigates the influence of the variables age, gender, ethnic group and text category on its rate of use. Several regression analyses were carried out on a total of 4,552 progressive constructions drawn from the Nigerian component of the International Corpus of English. The results show that younger speakers use more progressives than older speakers, which we interpret as evidence for ongoing language change. The frequency of progressives is furthermore influenced by the speaker’s ethnicity and the degree of formality and persuasiveness of the text category. The study further reveals that the frequency of extended uses of the progressive with verbs referring to habitual durative activities and stative verbs is stable across age groups in Nigerian English. Keywords: progressive; Nigerian English; apparent-time
Abstract
This study explores the use of the progressive in Nigerian English in apparent time and investigates the influence of the variables age, gender, ethnic group and text category on its rate of use. Several regression analyses were carried out on a total of 4,552 progressive constructions drawn from the Nigerian component of the International Corpus of English. The results show that younger speakers use more progressives than older speakers, which we interpret as evidence for ongoing language change. The frequency of progressives is furthermore influenced by the speaker’s ethnicity and the degree of formality and persuasiveness of the text category. The study further reveals that the frequency of extended uses of the progressive with verbs referring to habitual durative activities and stative verbs is stable across age groups in Nigerian English. Keywords: progressive; Nigerian English; apparent-time
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
PART 1. Inner Circle Englishes
- Diachronic variation in the grammar of Australian English 15
- At the crossroads of change 43
- Do -support in early New Zealand and Australian English 65
- The progressive in Irish English 87
- Cross-variety diachronic drifts and ephemeral regional contrasts 119
- Passives of so-called ‘ditransitives’ in nineteenth century and present-day Canadian English 147
- Dual adverbs in Australian English 179
- The evolution of epistemic marking in West Australian English 205
- May and might in nineteenth century Irish English and English English 221
- The present perfect and the preterite in Australian English 247
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PART 2. Outer Circle Englishes
- Recent diachronic change in the progressive in Philippine English 271
- Linguistic change in a multilingual setting 297
- Patterns of regularisation in British, American and Indian English 335
- An apparent time study of the progressive in Nigerian English 373
- American influence on written Caribbean English 389
- Cultural keywords in context 411
- Recent quantitative changes in the use of modals and quasi-modals in the Hong Kong, British and American printed press 437
- The development of an extended time period meaning of the progressive in Black South African English 465
- Index 485
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
PART 1. Inner Circle Englishes
- Diachronic variation in the grammar of Australian English 15
- At the crossroads of change 43
- Do -support in early New Zealand and Australian English 65
- The progressive in Irish English 87
- Cross-variety diachronic drifts and ephemeral regional contrasts 119
- Passives of so-called ‘ditransitives’ in nineteenth century and present-day Canadian English 147
- Dual adverbs in Australian English 179
- The evolution of epistemic marking in West Australian English 205
- May and might in nineteenth century Irish English and English English 221
- The present perfect and the preterite in Australian English 247
-
PART 2. Outer Circle Englishes
- Recent diachronic change in the progressive in Philippine English 271
- Linguistic change in a multilingual setting 297
- Patterns of regularisation in British, American and Indian English 335
- An apparent time study of the progressive in Nigerian English 373
- American influence on written Caribbean English 389
- Cultural keywords in context 411
- Recent quantitative changes in the use of modals and quasi-modals in the Hong Kong, British and American printed press 437
- The development of an extended time period meaning of the progressive in Black South African English 465
- Index 485
