Relatives worldwide
-
Ulrike Gut
Abstract
This chapter investigates relativization strategies in Nigerian, Jamaican, Philippine and Singapore English in order to test claims of reduced stylistic variability and an influence of norm-orientation in these New Englishes. Based on an analysis of these four International Corpus of English subcorpora it was shown that the New Englishes share a large number of relativization strategies. Some differences across them were found in terms of relative marker choice. All four varieties of English exhibit systematic variation of relativization strategies with text types, but this is less pronounced in Nigerian and Philippine English, the two varieties whose norm-orientation is more external and where a local standard form of English has not yet been established. Keywords: relativization; stylistic variation; relative pronoun choice; pied-piping; norm-orientation
Abstract
This chapter investigates relativization strategies in Nigerian, Jamaican, Philippine and Singapore English in order to test claims of reduced stylistic variability and an influence of norm-orientation in these New Englishes. Based on an analysis of these four International Corpus of English subcorpora it was shown that the New Englishes share a large number of relativization strategies. Some differences across them were found in terms of relative marker choice. All four varieties of English exhibit systematic variation of relativization strategies with text types, but this is less pronounced in Nigerian and Philippine English, the two varieties whose norm-orientation is more external and where a local standard form of English has not yet been established. Keywords: relativization; stylistic variation; relative pronoun choice; pied-piping; norm-orientation
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- International Corpus of English vii
- Introduction ix
- “Off with their heads” 1
- Modals and quasi-modals in New Englishes 35
- The diverging need ( to )’s of Asian Englishes 55
- Will and would in selected New Englishes 77
- Progressives in Maltese English 103
- Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar 137
- Particle verbs across first and second language varieties of English 167
- Particle verbs in African Englishes 197
- Relatives worldwide 215
- Change from to -infinitive to bare infinitive in specificational cleft sentences 243
- “And they were all like ‘What’s going on?’” 263
- Index 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- International Corpus of English vii
- Introduction ix
- “Off with their heads” 1
- Modals and quasi-modals in New Englishes 35
- The diverging need ( to )’s of Asian Englishes 55
- Will and would in selected New Englishes 77
- Progressives in Maltese English 103
- Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar 137
- Particle verbs across first and second language varieties of English 167
- Particle verbs in African Englishes 197
- Relatives worldwide 215
- Change from to -infinitive to bare infinitive in specificational cleft sentences 243
- “And they were all like ‘What’s going on?’” 263
- Index 291
