This study concentrates on the development of the third-person indicative present singular verb inflection in Early Modern British and American English. Within the framework of sociohistorical variation analysis, corpus-based comparisons focus on a number of extralinguistic and linguistic factors that have influenced the choice of the forms over successive periods of time. During the period studied, the main line of development is the replacement of the -th by the -s ending; the zero from is clearly in decline, as is the use of the -s and the -th endings in the third-person present plural inflection. The type of the verb (notably have and do vs. other verbs) and stem-final sounds play an important role in the choice of the form. The text type, the level of formality, and the sex of the author can also be seen to influence the distribution patterns. The -s ending had already been firmly established in everyday usage before the settlers left for the New World. Contrary to what has usually been attributed to the phenomenon of “colonial lag,” the rate of change was more rapid in the colonies than in the mother country.

Sociolinguistic situations that involve interplay between standard and nonstandard varieties have posed certain difficulties for the analysis of variation at the morphosyntactic level (Harris, 1984; Milroy, 1987). In particular, there is the problem of defining the scope and relevant contexts of morphosyntactic variables—a problem closely linked to that of identifying the semantic equivalence in terms of which the variable is defined (Cheshire, 1982; Romaine, 1984). This article addresses such issues by examining variation in the use of perfect have and its alternatives in the Trinidadian creole continuum. The alternatives to have include other Standard English (SE) forms (e.g., the past), as well as forms like perfective Ø, completive done, and others which function in the Trinidadian Creole (TC) system. The analysis is based on data from a sample of speakers from different social backgrounds. The variation described here is part of a wider pattern involving different strategies for expressing the various meanings associated with the perfect in SE, namely, the “continuative,” “experiential,” and “resulative” interpretations of have. TC employs different strategies for expressing these meanings. Perfective Ø is used (along with apporopriate adverbial specifications) to convey the experiential meaning; progressive -in, Ø copula, or Ø-marked statives convey the continuative sense; and completive done competes with prefective Ø to convey the resultative sense. All of these may vary with have. I discuss at length the procedures that are used to define the variable and the equivalents of have that are identified. A quantitative analysis reveals clear patterns of variation according to class, subcategory of perfect, and predicate type. The differences in the use of have are explained in terms of varying degrees of influences from vernacular norms among the social groups, as well as the availability of alternative choices to have within the pragmatic and grammatical environments. Finally, I indicate the implications of this investigation for the study of morphosyntactic variation in other divergent dialect situations. Specifically, the findings are relevant to situations, such as AAVE, which involve variation between standard and nonstandard strategies for expressing the meanings associated with the perfect and other morophosyntactic categories.

This article considers language variation within one “ethnic” group: Israelis of Middle Eastern origins. Earlier studies (Yaeger-Dror, 1988, 1991) found that singers from the dominant “koiné” -speaking social group (Blanc, 1968) use [r] in pop songs and [R] in casual interviews. This can be defined as a register distinction. On the other hand, singers from a MidEastern ethnolinguistic background, whose underlying dialect includes [r], use [R] even in songs. Given that singers whose vernacular consonant invetory does not even include [r], and who should find it easire to use it categorically, have such a difficult time maintaing [r] consistently (and appropriately) in the song register? One of the recorded variants for these singers “merges” the [r] and [R] into coarticulated [rR]. Why does this previously unattested sound arise, and what does it tell us about the linguistic and sociolinguistic situation? Data from various registers are analyzed in order to discover the answers to these questions. This analysis is concerned with the quantifiable evidence of systematic patterns in the use of these three pronunciations for [r] and uses this evidence to demonstrate that subconscious sociolinguistic pressures on members of the minority community influence them to assimilate to the dominant social group while still retaining ethnolinguistic proof of a narrower ethnic identity. For example, the use of [rR] is found to be correlated with a wish to affiliate with both an [R]-using group and an [r]-using group, showing that sociolinguistic techniques can reveal social psychological ethinc affiliation. Like Trudgill's (1986) discussions of dialects in contact, the present theoretical discussion takes advantage of proposals advanced by Giles, to explain why the data reveal both convergence (toward the dominant out-group) and divergence (toward the in-group) (Giles & Coupland, 1991). Sociolinguistic methods permit a quantitative analysis of the strength of these conflicting tendencies, both of which are subsumed under the technical term “accommodation.” Methods are proposed to determine if choice of the

[R] or [rR] variant is conscious or not, and variable rule analysis reveals that for most of the singers the less cognitive salience, the greater the degree of convergence to the Koiné norm [R]. The linguistic factors that are correlated with the relative degree of salience can be used in future studies when the relationship between convergence toward another dialect or language and relative cognitive salience is also at issue.

Standard Hungarian has a short front unrounded low vowel phoneme /ε/, but certain dialects have a mid /e/ as well. The standard /ε/ evolved from a merger of the two phonemes. A formal reading of word groups and a same/different listening test revealed that Hungarian–Americans in South Bend, Indiana, exhibit a continuum between the /ε/ dialect and the /ε/versus /e/ dialect, showing important differences between the informants' perception and production. The Hungarian–American data and metropolitan Hungarian data were compared to Labov, Karen, and Miller's (1991) findings on near-mergers. The importance of investigating perceptual and productive systems separtely is emphasized.

Anaphoric referential mechanisms are comparatively analyzed in a creole-related set of varieties (the Belizean continuum) and a noncreole language variety (formal and informal styles of American English), with the intent to evaluate the claim that creole languages display linguistic systems distinct from those of other languages. Three categories of topic referents (nominal, pronominal, and periphrastic) are identified in 27 Belizean texts and 12 American texts, and the effect on referent choice of two variables (topic number and stylistic/lectal context) are investigated. Some of the resulting findings inclued: (1) Singl-topic samples display consistent referential strategies in all Belizean lects, whereas multitopic texts indicate lect-linked variations; and (2) Belizean lects are strikingly similar to spontaneous styles of American English, whereas formal American English is markedly distinct in its use of referents, both from Belizean (including acrolects) and from casual English.