The present perfect and the preterite in Australian English
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Xinyue Yao
Abstract
The present study explores diachronic shifts in the use of the present perfect and the preterite in Australian English. Research on British and American English has shown that the present perfect has lost ground to the preterite since the 18th century, a process underpinned by the weakening of the present perfect’s association with resultative contexts and the strengthening of its association with non-resultative, ‘extended-now’ contexts. The changes identified in Australian English by this study are strongly indicative of the above functional shift, but are less remarkable in degree and range than in British English, and even less than in American English. Keywords: Australian English; present perfect; preterite; diachronic change
Abstract
The present study explores diachronic shifts in the use of the present perfect and the preterite in Australian English. Research on British and American English has shown that the present perfect has lost ground to the preterite since the 18th century, a process underpinned by the weakening of the present perfect’s association with resultative contexts and the strengthening of its association with non-resultative, ‘extended-now’ contexts. The changes identified in Australian English by this study are strongly indicative of the above functional shift, but are less remarkable in degree and range than in British English, and even less than in American English. Keywords: Australian English; present perfect; preterite; diachronic change
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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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
