Variation in English syntax: theoretical implications

This article provides an overview of the relationship between studies of syntactic variation in dialects of English and theoretical accounts of language structure. In the first section of the article, we provide a discussion of the place of syntactic variation within various subdisciplines of linguistic enquiry: we address issues such as I- and E-language, the place of Standard English in linguistic theory, and interfaces between traditional dialectology, variationist sociolinguistics, and theoretical linguistics. These interfaces suggest the need for a clarification of the nature and status of the (morpho)syntactic variable, which we provide in section 3; and in section 4, we examine the way in which (morpho)syntactic variation is treated within a number of theoretical models – for instance, Principles and Parameters theory, HPSG, OT, and cognitive linguistics (including Word Grammar and Construction Grammar) – all of which feature in the other articles in this special issue.

[1]  Jerrold J. Katz,et al.  Language and other abstract objects , 1980 .

[2]  A. Kroch.  Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change , 1989, Language Variation and Change.

[3]  N. Gage,et al.  I think you think I think... , 1968 .

[4]  W. Labov.  The social stratification of English in New York City , 1969 .

[5]  Beatriz R. Lavandera.  Where does the sociolinguistic variable stop? , 1978, Language in Society.

[6]  Gregory R. Guy.  Explanation in variable phonology: An exponential model of morphological constraints , 1991, Language Variation and Change.

[7]  Noam Chomsky.  Current Issues in Linguistic Theory , 1964 .

[8]  J. Mompeán-González.  Category overlap and neutralization: The importance of speakers' classifications in phonology , 2004 .

[9]  Richard Hudson,et al.  English word grammar , 1995 .

[10]  Alison Henry,et al.  Belfast English and standard English : dialect variation and parameter setting , 1995 .

[11]  Miriam Meyerhoff.  Chapter 21. Communities of Practice , 2008 .

[12]  Nikolas Coupland,et al.  What is Sociolinguistic Theory , 1998 .

[13]  Sali A. Tagliamonte.  Was/were variation across the generations: View from the city of York , 1998, Language Variation and Change.

[14]  William Croft,et al.  Explaining language change : an evolutionary approach , 2000 .

[15]  Richard S. Kayne.  Microparametric syntax: Some introductory remarks , 1996 .

[16]  James R. Black,et al.  Microparametric syntax and dialect variation , 1996 .

[17]  Lesley Milroy,et al.  Observing and Analysing Natural Language , 1987 .

[18]  W. Labov,et al.  Constraints on the agentless passive , 1983, Journal of Linguistics.

[19]  A. Kroch.  Morphosyntactic Variation , 1997 .

[20]  Rakesh Mohan Bhatt,et al.  Optimal expressions in Indian English , 2000, English Language and Linguistics.

[21]  M. Tomasello.  First Steps toward a Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition , 2001 .

[22]  G. Jäger,et al.  The winner takes it all — almost: cumulativity in grammatical variation , 2006 .

[23]  Peter L. Patrick.  The speech community , 2008 .

[24]  A. Anttila.  Deriving Variation from Grammar , 1997 .

[25]  Jenny Cheshire.  Syntactic variation, the linguistic variable, and sociolinguistic theory , 1987 .

[26]  Paul Kerswill,et al.  Koineization and accommodation. , 2002 .

[27]  Jenny Cheshire,et al.  Variation in an English Dialect: A Sociolinguistic Study , 1984 .

[28]  Jaakko Leino,et al.  8. Constructions and variability , 2005 .

[29]  Rajend Mesthrie,et al.  A Handbook of Varieties of English , 2004 .

[30]  Stefanie Wulff,et al.  Brutal Brits and persuasive Americans: Variety-specifc meaning construction in theinto-causative , 2007 .

[31]  R. Hudson.  Sociolinguistics and the theory of grammar , 1986 .

[32]  Noam Chomsky,et al.  The Minimalist Program , 1992 .

[33]  D. Adger,et al.  Variation and the minimalist programme , 2005 .

[34]  John Harris,et al.  Syntactic variation and dialect divergence , 1984, Journal of Linguistics.

[35]  William Labov,et al.  The exact description of a speech community , 1989 .

[36]  Nessa Wolfson,et al.  Speech events and natural speech: some implications for sociolinguistic methodology , 1976, Language in Society.

[37]  Ruth King.  Morphosyntactic variation and theory: Subject-verb agreement in Acadian French , 2005 .

[38]  H. Orton,et al.  Survey of English dialects , 1962 .

[39]  Ronald W. Langacker,et al.  Chapter 4: A dynamic usage-based model , 1999 .

[40]  F. Hinskens,et al.  Variation, change and phonological theory , 1997 .

[41]  R. Hudson.  Inherent variability and linguistic theory , 1997 .