This paper argues that descriptions of Sri Lankan English (SLE) are influenced by ideologies of linguistic racism and coloniality through an examination of the possible reasons for their neglect of Burgher English -- an underprivileged variety of SLE spoken by a minority community. Although descriptions of SLE identify different categories of the…

In this paper, I provide an analysis of 'verbless' sentences in Arabic (mainly, the Standard variety, SA) in light of the claims of the feature-based probe-goal-Agree system of Chomsky (2001, 2004) and such assumptions as held by Biberauer et al. (2010) about probe-goal Agree relations being parameterized according to the feature-structure of…

In Contemporary Standard Russian (CSR) and Contemporary Standard Polish (CSP) nominal possession is conveyed by means of the adnominal genitive. In this construction the dependent follows the noun it modifies and is marked morphologically for possession in the genitive case. The head noun is marked morphologically for any one of the six…

Concerns the interrelation between the theoretical status and the social dimensions of syntactic variation in Heerlen Dutch. Syntactic variation of Heerlen Dutch consists of a range of dative constructions that are unacceptable in standard Dutch. (Author/JL)

Three categories of topic referents (nominal, pronominal, and periphrastic) are identified in 27 Belizean texts and 12 American texts, and the effects of referent choice of two variables (topic number and stylistic/lectal context) are investigated. One finding is that Belizean lects are strikingly similar to spontaneous styles of American English.…

This paper examines the claim that German-language syntax is undergoing a process of restructuring that will eliminate verb final position in sentences, resulting in a very English-style linear sentence structure. One particular structure is examined in interviews with 30 adults and 10 children: the finite verb in subordinate clauses that is…

This paper reexamines the debate over the emergence of Black South African English (BSAE) as a variety of English that is institutionalized with distinct properties. It focuses on the tense logic in Bantu languages and discourse markers that chiefly account for uniquely BSAE features. Through an indepth analysis of these linguistic properties, the…

Using variationist methodology, this study analyzed natural speech data from 31 speakers of standard Canadian English and found an overwhelming preference for singular agreement in existentials. Contrary to predictions, this was not linked to a determiner-based structural distinction but rather to the form of the copula and the speaker's level of…

There is a substantial discrepancy between normative and empirical views on Dutch standard pronunciation. The discrepancy between these views can be reduced by looking at the empirical range as being structured from an imagined point of reference. The prescriptive standard then operates as the ultimate model toward which the submodels for standard…

A study investigated the syntax and semantics of the word "until" in Standard British English and Singapore English. While the word is used similarly in the two languages, it has uses in Singapore English not available in Standard Spoken English, paralleling the word "dao" in Chinese and suggesting a substrate influence that is…

The project Talsyntax (Syntax of Spoken Swedish), part of a large-scale study of modern Swedish language usage, examined the general characteristics and peculiarities of spoken Swedish. Three important aspects of the study are data collection, methodological results, and empirical results. The data collection effort has produced an archive of…