Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English Bailey Guy
Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English Bailey Guy This Element uses data from the Springville Project to explore how the functions of the inherited forms…
Specifikacia Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English Bailey Guy
Inheritance and Innovation in the Evolution of Rural African American English Bailey Guy
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. The motivation for these innovations were both socio-cultural and linguistic. 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 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. The Great Migration and its consequences provided a demographic and socio-cultural context within which linguistic innovations could develop and spread. When taken together, the evolution of these forms