Abstract There is a dearth of studies on existential there -occurrence in written Nigerian English. Based on the 400,796-word written sub-corpus of International Corpus of English Nigeria (ICE-Nigeria) and its 17 genres containing 510 files, this study examines existential there -clauses (ETCs) in written Nigerian English. The material was printed for data extraction and was revisited several times, focusing on distribution and frequency, syntactic positions, predicators, complements, and adjuncts. Systemic Grammar underlies the study. The data comprises 661 ETCs. The occurrence rate is 1.65 in 1000 words and is highest in Exams (2.62). ETCs are most frequent as independent clauses and least as subjects. While BE represents 98 percent of predicators, and indefinite pronouns account for 6.3 percent of complements, a ( n ) and no are the highest modifiers. 53 percent of ETCs derive from kernel sentences, but their 0.5 percent occurrence as complements of let -type imperative clauses questions existing theory and description.

Abstract Researching language change across the lifespan benefits from analyzing the indexicalities and socio-cognitive salience of linguistic variables produced by speakers of different ages ( Bülow and Vergeiner 2021 ; Mechler 2025 ). This paper demonstrates the potential of the Salient Language in Context tool by Montgomery et al. (2025) in a panel study to capture micro-reactions and holistic after the fact ratings. Findings reveal that the female speaker is perceptually downgraded for sociability and competence ratings when in her twenties (T1) while be like , a feature commonly associated with youth, is significantly more salient in her thirties (T2). This supports previous evidence of bias against young women ( Duncan and Loretto 2004 ; Mechler 2025 ) and a penalty for defying age-based linguistic expectations. The results show that listeners struggle to reconcile linguistic “youthfulness” with societal norms for middle-aged women and confirm that “age-related ideology is inseparable from gender ideology” ( Eckert 2014 : 541).

Abstract Situated at the crossroads of English varieties studies, sociolinguistics, and typology, this paper offers an empirically-based discussion of practical and theoretical challenges involved in collecting speaker data for English varieties. The starting point is recent research on statistical trends between sociodemographic data, including speaker numbers, and linguistic structures. Such quantitative analyses depend on the availability and quality of speaker numbers and thus precipitate the collection of unavailable and well-documented data. In this vein, I detail how to extrapolate speaker numbers from open-access sources for a wide range of English varieties. Based on empirical use cases, practical issues like data quality and reliability are discussed. Furthermore, I illustrate how (the lack of uniform) definitions for concepts commonly used in census data like mother tongue or native speaker impact data collection. In short, this paper highlights key issues in collecting speaker numbers which have implications for research in English varieties and beyond.

Abstract Recent advances in streaming protocols and automatic speech recognition (ASR) have enabled large-scale spoken language corpora, yet research on Singapore English remains constrained by small or text-based datasets. The YouTube Corpus of Singapore English Podcasts (YCSEP) addresses this gap with 620 hours of transcribed, diarized speech from over 1,300 podcast episodes by Singapore-based content creators. YCSEP supports the empirical analysis of phonetics, morphosyntax, and discourse, enabling the study of low-frequency features like discourse particles and reduplication. The dataset reflects informal, spontaneous speech from diverse speakers and facilitates investigation into nativization and endonormative stabilization processes in postcolonial English. Built using a pipeline of yt-dlp, WhisperX, and Pyannote, YCSEP offers robust empirical grounding for linguistic features such as verb complementation and modality. It also contributes to broader theoretical discussions on areal norms and construction grammar in World Englishes.

Abstract The paper explores the role of borrowings in Super Bowl commercials in the years 2019–2023 on the example of loanwords from seventeen languages in American English. Data analysis shows five distinctive topic categories according to the roles the borrowings play in the commercials studied. The analysis determines four main roles that fall into two categories: code-switching and intentional use of borrowings. It is possible to distinguish the borrowings used either intentionally or unintentionally within the code-switching category, and borrowings oriented towards either the audience or product within the intentional category. The results demonstrate the general applicability of the code-switching category and high dependability on the context in terms of intentionality. There is a marked tendency for product-oriented borrowings within the intentional category. The intentional category is usually not applicable in the case of lexemes with native counterparts or technical terminology.

Abstract This study analyses the structural and aspectual variants of give, take, and make light verb constructions (LVCs) (e.g. make a call) in mesolectal Malaysian English (MalE). A synchronic corpus of online forum data representing contemporary English use in Malaysia was developed for the analysis, and the Spoken British National Corpus 2014 was used as a reference. Findings show that, structurally, MalE LVCs prefer unmodified constructions with an indefinite article in active voice while, aspectually, they are mostly telic. To identify significant structural and aspectual variants of LVCs specific to either MalE or British English (BrE), a correlational analysis was conducted. MalE shows a higher proportion of zero-article LVCs, active voice LVCs, and bounded LVCs marked by prepositional phrase (PP)-to indicating telicity. Notably, mesolectal MalE aligns with BrE in its use of LVCs but diverges in other grammatical forms.

Abstract In charting the history of Australian English, little attention has hitherto been paid to Western Australia, an extremely isolated colony established in 1829, some 40 years after the First Fleet arrived on the eastern coast. Using a historical sociolinguistic third-wave perspective, this study looks at the linguistic behaviour apparent in diaries and a memoir by two sisters born in the colony in the mid-19th century, finding unconventional spellings which may signal phonological features. Different spellings for the Indigenous loan word referring to a unique local animal, codified in present-day English as quokka, also prompt further investigation of historic records, finding that the spelling and likely pronunciation of the animal’s name has changed over time. As the source language, Nyungar, has no present-day fluent speakers, the original pronunciation of the word is uncertain, but the timing of the apparent shift of its first-syllable vowel may suggest markedness levelling in an emerging dialect.