Aspect in grammatical variation / edited by James A. Walker.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Walker, James A. (James Anthony)

Series:

Studies in language variation ; 6.

Studies in language variation ; 6

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Variation.

Language and languages.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Physical Description:

vi, 150 p.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub. Company, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The articles in this edited volume represent a range of approaches to studying the role of verbal aspect in grammatical variation. Issues addressed include: defining the variable context; operationalizing aspectual distinctions as factors conditioning linguistic variation; and the appropriate number of aspectual distinctions and levels. Apart from bringing to light various methodological and analytical issues, this volume gathers together a unique collection of original research, based on spoken- and written-language corpora, of an array of languages and linguistic varieties: African American Vernacular English, Caribbean English and English-based creole, Indian English, Newfoundland English, Canadian French, Brazilian Portuguese, Ecuadorian Spanish, Mexican Spanish, and Peninsular Spanish. This volume should not only benefit research on grammatical variation but also be of interest more generally to the study of verbal aspect.

Contents:

Aspect in Grammatical Variation

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Table of contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Impetus for the volume

1.2 Aspect and grammatical variation

1.3 Overview of the volume

References

2. Grammaticalization paths as variable contexts in weak complementarity in Spanish

2.1 The form-function problem

2.2 Weak complementarity as a diagnostic for tense-aspect variables

2.3 Grammaticalization paths

2.4 Spanish Progressive estar vs. andar + Verb-ndo

2.5 Spanish Present Perfect vs. Preterit variation

2.6 Conclusion

3. Aspectual periphrases and syntactic variation in Brazilian Portuguese

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Defining the variable context

3.3 Coding aspect

3.4 Aspect as a dependent variable

3.5 Conclusion

4. Aspect and the English Present Perfect

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Data and coding

4.3 Results

4.4 Conclusions

5. Coding compositional aspect in French

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Circumscribing the variable context

5.3 The compositionality of aspect

5.4 Linguistic factors

5.5 Conclusion

6. Breaking old habits

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Speech community, data, methods

6.3 Findings

6.4 Discussion

7. Affairs of state

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Stativity in grammatical variation

7.3 Coding stativity

7.4 Discussion

7.5 Conclusion

8. A new methodology for the study of aspect in contact

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Approaches to aspect in contact settings

8.3 Hypotheses and data

8.4 Results

8.5 Conclusion: Implications for the study of aspect

9. Expressing tense and aspect

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Expressing and acquiring aspect

9.3 Data and methods

9.4 Results

9.5 Discussion

9.6 Conclusion

Index.

The Studies in Language Variation Series.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-89726-8

9786612897269

90-272-8747-3

OCLC:

693780683