1. Morphosyntactic Features of Anguillian English in Teenage Speakers
- Author
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Snyder, Haley Suzanne
- Subjects
- Sociolinguistics, Speech Therapy, Linguistics, Creole continuum, Anguilla, dialect, dialect rate, creole, Caribbean English, English-derived dialects, morphosyntax, morphosyntactic features, grammar, linguistics, Eastern Caribbean, colonization, lesser-known dialects, English dialects, creolized dialects, Caribbean creole, English creole, Anguillian English
- Abstract
Anguilla is a small Eastern Caribbean Island where a dialect called Anguillian English (AnE) has been spoken since the 17th century. Today, speakers of AnE use unique morphosyntactic features that differ from Standard English (SE). The purpose of this study was to analyze the language samples of ten AnE speakers using a synchronic, token-based approach to calculate the dialect rate of each speaker, elucidate the salient morphosyntactic features of AnE, investigate across- and within-speaker variation, and assign each participant a place along the creole continuum. The results indicated that in AnE, copula and auxiliary linking verbs “to be” may be variably realized. The habitual aspect may be expressed through use of “does” or “does be.” Plurality may be indicated through suffixation of plural -s or with “dem/them” as a post-nominal plural marker. “Dem/them” may also be used as a third person plural subject pronoun. Variation in these features was observed across the ten language samples. The total number of dialect features demonstrated by participants ranged from zero to 53 overall. Based on dialect rate, three participants appeared to speak an acrolect, three participants appeared to speak a mesolect, and four participants appeared to speak a basilect of Anguillian English.
- Published
- 2023