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The birth of a variant: Evidence for a tripartite negative past be paradigm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Kirk Hazen
Kirk Hazen
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
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Abstract

In the study of past be, most researchers have assumed a two variant distinction for negative forms (i.e., wasn't and weren't). In Warren County, North Carolina, evidence suggests a three variant distinction (i.e., wasn't, weren't, and wont). Throughout the history of sociolinguistic investigation, two types of variants have been noted: a sociolinguistic variant and a linguistic variant. In Warren County, wont functions as both types, as demonstrated through acoustic, morphophonological, and sociolinguistic evidence. Through the analysis of negative past be, guidelines are suggested for determining a particular form as a separate linguistic and sociolinguistic variant.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , October 1998 , pp. 221 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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