Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English
Published on 21. September 2022
978-1-009-09254-8 (ISBN)
Description
This Element uses data from the Springville Project to explore how the functions of the inherited forms invariant be (from English sources) and zero (from creolization) have transformed during the twentieth century. Originally just alternative present tense copula/auxiliary forms, both features developed into aspectual markers - invariant be to mark durativity/habituality and zero to mark nonstativity. The motivation for these innovations were both socio-cultural and linguistic. The Great Migration and its consequences provided a demographic and socio-cultural context within which linguistic innovations could develop and spread. The mismatch between form and function within the present tense copula/auxiliary system and the grammatical ambiguities that affected both invariant be and zero provided linguistic triggers for this reanalysis. When taken together, the evolution of these forms illustrates how restructured linguistic subsystems (and eventually new varieties) emerge out of the interplay between inheritance and innovation.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
3,54 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-009-09254-8 (9781009092548)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Guy Bailey | Patricia Cukor-Avila | Juan Salinas
Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English
Book
10/2022
Cambridge University Press
€24.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Content
1. Introduction; 2. An approach to analyzing the AAE Copula/Aux System; 3. Invariant be; 4. Zero copula/Auxiliary; 5. The interaction of innovation with inheritance in the twentieth century AAE Copula/Auxiliary System; 6. Conclusion.
