Startseite Linguistik & Semiotik Subjective progressives in the history of American English
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Subjective progressives in the history of American English

He’s always telling some kind of lie
  • Magnus Levin
Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill
Erkunden Sie dieses Fachgebiet So veröffentlichen Sie bei uns
Corpus Linguistics, Context and Culture
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Corpus Linguistics, Context and Culture

Abstract

This study investigates subjective progressives with always/constantly/ forever (e.g., you’re always complaining) in American English with data from the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA). The results show that subjective progressives are increasing but that this shift is restricted to always + progressive. The increase in subjective progressives is linked to colloquialization as reflected in an increasing use of first-person subject pronouns and contracted verb forms. Fiction contains the highest frequency of subjective progressives, largely due to fictional dialogue expressing subjective attitudes. The proportion of negative subjective attitudes decreases slightly towards the end of the 20th century. The material indicates that women are leading the way in the increase in subjective progressives, but there is no difference in women’s and men’s preferences for expressing negative subjective attitudes.

Abstract

This study investigates subjective progressives with always/constantly/ forever (e.g., you’re always complaining) in American English with data from the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA). The results show that subjective progressives are increasing but that this shift is restricted to always + progressive. The increase in subjective progressives is linked to colloquialization as reflected in an increasing use of first-person subject pronouns and contracted verb forms. Fiction contains the highest frequency of subjective progressives, largely due to fictional dialogue expressing subjective attitudes. The proportion of negative subjective attitudes decreases slightly towards the end of the 20th century. The material indicates that women are leading the way in the increase in subjective progressives, but there is no difference in women’s and men’s preferences for expressing negative subjective attitudes.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I: Discourse contexts and cultures
  5. Patterns of discursive urban place-making in Brooklyn, New York 13
  6. The English of current Caribbean newspapers 43
  7. Corporate identity and its variation over time 75
  8. Applying Geographical Information Systems to researching historical corpora 109
  9. Corpus linguistics: Widening the remit 137
  10. Part II: Contexts of lexis and grammar
  11. Family collocation 165
  12. Factors influencing the translation of -ing participial free adjuncts 197
  13. The diachronic productivity of native combining forms in American English 223
  14. Advise against -ing: An emerging class of exceptions to Bach’s Generalization 253
  15. Subjective progressives in the history of American English 275
  16. Part III: Learner contexts
  17. A syntactic analysis of the introductory it pattern in non-native-speaker and nativespeaker student writing 307
  18. Phraseological teddy bears 339
  19. “Dear Man men and women madam, dear xxx sir” 363
  20. Marked themes in advanced learner English 387
  21. Phrasal verbs in the spoken and written modes of Norwegian L2 learner English 409
  22. Conversational gesture corpus analysis 437
  23. Corpus research for SLA 467
  24. List of contributors 483
  25. Index 487
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110489071-011

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I: Discourse contexts and cultures
  5. Patterns of discursive urban place-making in Brooklyn, New York 13
  6. The English of current Caribbean newspapers 43
  7. Corporate identity and its variation over time 75
  8. Applying Geographical Information Systems to researching historical corpora 109
  9. Corpus linguistics: Widening the remit 137
  10. Part II: Contexts of lexis and grammar
  11. Family collocation 165
  12. Factors influencing the translation of -ing participial free adjuncts 197
  13. The diachronic productivity of native combining forms in American English 223
  14. Advise against -ing: An emerging class of exceptions to Bach’s Generalization 253
  15. Subjective progressives in the history of American English 275
  16. Part III: Learner contexts
  17. A syntactic analysis of the introductory it pattern in non-native-speaker and nativespeaker student writing 307
  18. Phraseological teddy bears 339
  19. “Dear Man men and women madam, dear xxx sir” 363
  20. Marked themes in advanced learner English 387
  21. Phrasal verbs in the spoken and written modes of Norwegian L2 learner English 409
  22. Conversational gesture corpus analysis 437
  23. Corpus research for SLA 467
  24. List of contributors 483
  25. Index 487
Jetzt anmelden und 20% sparen
Institutioneller Zugang
Wie funktioniert Authentifizierung?
Haben Sie eine Idee, wie wir unsere Website verbessern können?
Bitte schreiben Sie uns.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Heruntergeladen am 26.1.2026 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110489071-011/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen