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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Microvariation In Verbal Rather, Jim Wood Jan 2022

Microvariation In Verbal Rather, Jim Wood

Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity

This paper uses survey results and interactive mapping tools to analyze correlations across different versions of the non-standard verbal use of the word rather, in particular with participial morphology, as in rathered. Across numerous possible instantiations of the construction, there appear to be in fact a quite limited number of grammars, which are generated by an implicational hierarchy of functional heads, along with the availability of a silent verb HAVE. The overall picture supports several broader conclusions. First, silent verbs can be licensed by head-moving to a modal head in the extended projection. This movement is freely available, but …


Some Notes On The "Needs Washed" Construction, Jim Wood, Josephine Holubkov, Ian Neidel, Kaija Gahm Jan 2022

Some Notes On The "Needs Washed" Construction, Jim Wood, Josephine Holubkov, Ian Neidel, Kaija Gahm

Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity

This paper describes the geographic and social factors that correlate with the acceptability of the needs washed construction, based on the results of recent survey data. After briefly describing the survey methods, we discuss several ways to analyze the geographic distribution of the construction, focusing on the distribution of “hot” and “cold” spots across different versions of the construction. We find certain core areas where the construction is highly accepted, as well as core areas where the construction is highly rejected. Our survey looks at the effect of verb (need, want, like, and love), tense/modality …