This paper uses a multivariate analysis of variable agreement in existentials with plural reference in a corpus of Quebec English to determine the status of variable agreement as a vernacular universal. Excluding the frequent invariant form there’s from analysis, both structural and processing considerations are shown to operate. A separate multivariate analysis provides support for the hypothesis that there’s is a lexicalized form with its own set of constraints. Cross-variety comparison reveals little evidence of regional diversification and suggests instead that differences observed between studies reflect the distribution of data in each corpus. Similarities of language-internal constraints across studies provide support for variable agreement as a vernacular universal.
2022. Minority language maintenance and the production‐prescription interface: Number agreement in New York Yiddish. Journal of Sociolinguistics 26:2 ► pp. 221 ff.
Suárez‐Gómez, Cristina, Lucía Loureiro‐Porto & Robert Fuchs
2020. World Englishes and grammatical variation. World Englishes 39:3 ► pp. 370 ff.
Wilson, Guyanne
2020. Variability and acceptability in Trinidadian English. World Englishes 39:3 ► pp. 462 ff.
Hilton, Katherine & Sunwoo Jeong
2019. The role of context in sociolinguistic perception. Linguistics Vanguard 5:s1
2019. Verbal –s in Existential there Sentences. In Linguistic Perspectives on a Variable English Morpheme, ► pp. 237 ff.
Rupp, Laura & David Britain
2019. Introduction. In Linguistic Perspectives on a Variable English Morpheme, ► pp. 1 ff.
Smith, Jennifer & Mercedes Durham
2019. Sociolinguistic Variation in Children's Language,
Hilton, Katherine
2018. Social meaning in a shifting grammatical landscape: The perception of nonagreement in existential there constructions. Journal of Sociolinguistics 22:2 ► pp. 233 ff.
2017. There's three variants: Agreement variation in existentialthereconstructions. Language Variation and Change 29:2 ► pp. 187 ff.
Schreier, Daniel
2016. Super-leveling, fraying-out, internal restructuring: A century of presentbeconcord in Tristan da Cunha English. Language Variation and Change 28:2 ► pp. 203 ff.
Poplack, Shana & Rena Torres Cacoullos
2015. Linguistic Emergence on the Ground. In The Handbook of Language Emergence, ► pp. 265 ff.
Hazen, Kirk
2014. A new role for an ancient variable in Appalachia: Paradigm leveling and standardization in West Virginia. Language Variation and Change 26:1 ► pp. 77 ff.
Meyerhoff, Miriam & James A. Walker
2013. An existential problem: The sociolinguistic monitor and variation in existential constructions on Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Language in Society 42:4 ► pp. 407 ff.
Squires, Lauren
2013. It don't go both ways: Limited bidirectionality in sociolinguistic perception. Journal of Sociolinguistics 17:2 ► pp. 200 ff.
BOBERG, CHARLES
2012. English as a minority language in Quebec. World Englishes 31:4 ► pp. 493 ff.
Tagliamonte, Sali A. & R. Harald Baayen
2012. Models, forests, and trees of York English:Was/werevariation as a case study for statistical practice. Language Variation and Change 24:2 ► pp. 135 ff.
Tagliamonte, Sali A.
2011. Variation as a window on universals. In Linguistic Universals and Language Variation, ► pp. 128 ff.
Cheshire, Jenny & Sue Fox
2009. Was/werevariation: A perspective from London. Language Variation and Change 21:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
STARKS, DONNA & LAURA THOMPSON
2009. Agreement patterns in existential constructions in the New Zealand Niuean community1. World Englishes 28:3 ► pp. 319 ff.
Trudgill, Peter
2008. English Dialect “Default Singulars,” Was versus Were, Verner's Law, and Germanic Dialects. Journal of English Linguistics 36:4 ► pp. 341 ff.
[no author supplied]
2011. References. In The Present Perfect in Non-Native Englishes, ► pp. 311 ff.
[no author supplied]
2013. Reference Guide for Varieties of English. In A Dictionary of Varieties of English, ► pp. 363 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 2 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.