Abstract
It has been argued that in language contact situations both transfer processes from the substrate languages (Thomason, 2008) and cognitive effects derived from the language contact situation itself (Schneider, 2012, 2013) can constitute important catalysts for language variation and change. Regarding the verbal complementation system, Steger and Schneider (2012: 172), for example, notice a preference for finite patterns over non-finite structures in World Englishes (WEs), that is, a preference for more explicit forms (hyperclarity and isomorphism). On the contrary, Schneider’s study (2012) does not confirm such a preference for more explicit forms in WEs in the competition between finite and non-finite patterns. This article intends to shed some light on the differences between the distribution of finite and nonfinite complementation patterns in WEs by exploring the complementation profile of the verb REGRET in two metropolitan varieties, British and American English, and comparing them to three geographically distant varieties with different substrate languages, historical contexts, and degrees of language contact: on the one hand, two ESL varieties, Hong Kong English and Nigerian English, and on the other, one ESD variety, Jamaican English, where contact is more pronounced. The main aim of this paper is, therefore, to investigate whether potential differences in the verbal complementation systems between varieties of English are product of cognitive processes derived from the language contact situation, a matter of transfer-induced change, or a combination of both.
Highlights
The English clausal complementation system has received a great deal of attention in the literature, not least in diachronic studies, where the emphasis has typically been on supranational or native varieties
Because the previously mentioned studies (Steger and Schneider, 2012; Schneider, 2012) do not consider substrate languages as a possible factor influencing the complementation system of non-native varieties of English, the main aim of this article is to investigate whether potential differences in the complementation systems between supranational varieties of English, English as a Second Language (ESL) varieties, and English as a Second Dialect (ESD) varieties are, (i) the product of cognitive processes derived from the language contact situation, (ii) a matter of transfer-induced change, that is, influence of the substrate language(s), or (iii) a combination of both
This section reports the results obtained from the manual analysis of the 14,984 attestations of the verb REGRET retrieved from the corresponding components of Global Web-Based English (GloWbE), which included almost 900 million words
Summary
The English clausal complementation system has received a great deal of attention in the literature, not least in diachronic studies, where the emphasis has typically been on supranational or native varieties. As Quirk et al (1985: 1193) explain, the infinitive (cf example (3) above) “indicates that the action or event takes place after (and as a result of) the mental process denoted by the verb has begun”, while the gerund or -ing (see examples (4) and (5)) “refers to a preceding event or occasion coming to mind at the time indicated by the main verb” These form-function pairings characteristic of retrospective verbs, with the gerund having a “retrospective” meaning, and the to-infinitive having a “prospective” one, have been discussed widely in the literature, especially from a diachronic perspective (cf Fanego, 1996a, 1996b, 1996c; Mair, 2006). As examples in (8) illustrate, the exact same meaning expressed with a finite that-clause (cf. example (8a)) can be expressed with a non-finite -ing-clause (cf. example (8b))
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