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The loss of negative concord in Standard English: Internal factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2007

Amel Kallel
Amel Kallel
Affiliation:
Reading University
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Abstract

This study readdresses the loss of Negative Concord (NC) in Standard English. A detailed study of negation in Late Middle English and Early Modern English reveals that the loss of NC was a case of a natural change triggered by some internal factors. A close study of n-words in negative contexts and their ultimate replacement with negative polarity items (NPIs) in a number of grammatical environments shows that the decline of NC follows the same pattern across contexts in a form of parallel curvature, which indicates that the loss of NC is a natural change. However, this study reveals that the decline is not constant across time (see Contra Kroch's Constant Rate Hypothesis [CRH], 1989). Context behavior suggests an alternative principle of linguistic change, the context constancy principle. A context constancy effect is obtained across all contexts, indicating that the loss of NC is triggered by a change in a single underlying parameter setting. Accordingly, a theory-internal explanation is suggested.I would like to thank the reviewer of this article for his/her comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper and for pointing to some crucial theoretical misconceptions in the previous literature. His/her comments are very much appreciated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 2007 , pp. 27 - 49
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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References

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Cheshire, J. (1982). A sociolinguistic study: Variation in an English dialect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Collett, D. (2003). Modelling binary data (2nd ed.). London: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Haegeman, L. (1995). The Syntax of negation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haspelmath, M. (1997). Indefinite pronouns. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kroch, A. (1989). Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change. Language Variation and Change 1:199–244.Google Scholar
Kroch, A. (1994). Morphosyntactic variation. In K. Beals et al. (eds.), Papers from the 30th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society: Parasession on variation and linguistic theory. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Labov, W. (1994). Principles of linguistic change: Vol. I: Internal factors. Oxford: Blackwell.
Osgood, C., & Sebeok, T. (1954). Psycholinguistics: A survey of theory and research problems. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 49:1–203.Google Scholar
Weinreich, U., Labov, W., & Herzog, M. I. (1968). Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In W. P. Lehmann & Y. Malkiel (eds.), Directions for historical linguistics: A symposium. Austin: University of Texas Press. 95–189.
Zanuttini, R. (1991). Syntactic properties of sentential negation. A comparative study of Romance languages. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Allen, P. S. (ed.). (1929). Letters of Richard Fox 1486–1527. Oxford: Clarendon University Press.
Bridgen, S. (ed.). (1990). The Letters of Richard Scudamore 1549–1555. Camden Fourth Series 39. The Royal Historical Society. London: Butler & Tanner.
Bruce, J. (ed.). (1844). Correspondence of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leycester 1585–6. London: J.B. Nichols & Son.
Cross, C. (ed.). (1969). The Letters of Sir Francis Hastings 1574–1906. Somerset Record Society, Vol. LXIX (69). Frome: Butler & Tanner.
Davis, N. (ed.). (1971). Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century (Vol. I). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Dickens, A. G. (ed.). (1962). The Clifford Letters of the Sixteenth Century. Publications of the Surtees Society, Vol. 172. Durham: Andrews and Co.
Hanham, A. (ed.). (1975). The Cely Letters 1472–1488. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Houlbrooke, R. A. (ed.). (1974–1975). The Letter Book of John Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, 1571–5. Publications of the Norfolk Record Society 43.Google Scholar
Houlbrooke, R. A. (ed.). (1994). The Letters and Will of Thomas Grene (D. 1545), Rector of Poringland. Publications of the Norfolk Record Society 56.Google Scholar
Hoyle, R. W. (ed.). (1992). Letters of the Cliffords 1500–1565. Camden Fourth Series, Vol. 44. London: Butler & Tanner.
Kingsford, C. L. (ed.). (1919). The Stonor letters and papers 1290–1483, Volume I. Camden Third Series, Vol. XXIX (24). London: Offices of the Society.
Kirkby, J. (ed.). (1996). The Plumpton letters and papers. Camden Fifth Series, Vol. 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lyell, L. (ed.). (1934). Miscellaneous Letters: A Medieval Post-Bag. London: Jonathan Cape.
Newdigate, N. (ed.). N.d. Gossip from a muniment room: Being passages in the lives of Anne & Mary Fytton 1574–1618.
O'Day, R. (ed.). (1979). The Letter-Book of Thomas Bentham, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 1560–1561. Camden Fourth Series, Vol. 22. London: Butler & Tanner.
Penn, M. A. (ed.). (1965). Willoughby letters of the first half of the sixteenth century (Vol. 4). Nottingham: Derry and Sons.
Pickering, W. (ed.). (1843). The correspondence of Dr. Matthew Hutton. The Surtees Society. Edingburgh: Laing and Forbes.
Raine. (ed.). (1842). The Correspondence of Mathew Hutton. London: J.B. Nichols & Son.
Seddon, P. R. (ed.). (1975). Letters of John Holles 1587–1637 Thoroton Society. Record Series, Vol. XXXI (31). Nottingham: Derry and Sons.
Sheppard, J. B. (ed.). (1876–1877). Christ Church Letters 1334–1520. The Camden Society.
Smith, A. H., Baker, G. M., & Kenny, R. W. (eds.). (1979). The Papers of Nathaniel Bacon of Stiffkey, Volume I, 1556–1577, Vol. XLVI (46). Norfolk: Norfolk Record Society.
St. Clare Byrne, M. (ed.). (1981). The Lisle Letters 1533–1540, Volumes I–VI. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
St. Clare Byrne, M. (ed.). (1981). Cromwell's Letters incorporated in The Lisle Letters 1533–1540, Volume V. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Wall, A.D. (ed.). (1983). Two Elizabethan women: The Correspondence of Joan and Maria Thynne 1575–1611. Devizes: Wiltshire Record Society.
Wood, M. A. E. (ed.). (1846). Letters of royal and illustrious ladies of Great Britain Volumes I–III. London: Henry Colburn.

REFERENCES

Bailey, C. J. (1973). Variation and linguistic theory. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Barber, C. (eds.). (1997). Early Modern English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Burnley, D. (1983). A guide to Chaucer's English. London: Macmillan.
Chambers, J. K. (1992). Dialect acquisition. Language 68:673–705.Google Scholar
Cheshire, J. (1982). A sociolinguistic study: Variation in an English dialect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Collett, D. (2003). Modelling binary data (2nd ed.). London: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Haegeman, L. (1995). The Syntax of negation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haspelmath, M. (1997). Indefinite pronouns. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kroch, A. (1989). Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change. Language Variation and Change 1:199–244.Google Scholar
Kroch, A. (1994). Morphosyntactic variation. In K. Beals et al. (eds.), Papers from the 30th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society: Parasession on variation and linguistic theory. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Labov, W. (1994). Principles of linguistic change: Vol. I: Internal factors. Oxford: Blackwell.
Osgood, C., & Sebeok, T. (1954). Psycholinguistics: A survey of theory and research problems. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 49:1–203.Google Scholar
Weinreich, U., Labov, W., & Herzog, M. I. (1968). Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In W. P. Lehmann & Y. Malkiel (eds.), Directions for historical linguistics: A symposium. Austin: University of Texas Press. 95–189.
Zanuttini, R. (1991). Syntactic properties of sentential negation. A comparative study of Romance languages. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.