Current Changes in English Syntax

Abstract

The present survey reviews previous work on current change in English syntax. Focusing on British and American Standard English, and on contrasts between the written and the spoken language, it uses data from a wide range of digital corpora to illustrate ongoing change in the verb phrase (mood, modality, aspect), in the noun phrase (relative clauses), and in nonfinite subordinate clauses. In the spirit of usage-based models of linguistic change, we emphasize the interplay of language-internal and language-external factors in the spread of innovations.

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