New-dialect formation in Canada
Subtitle: evidence from the English modal auxiliaries
By: Stefan Dollinger.
Series: Studies in language companion series -- v. 97
Publisher: John Benjamins Pub.; John Benjamins Publishing Company
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Amsterdam; Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 355
ISBN-13: 9789027231086
Subjects: English language -- Canada -- History; English language -- Dialects -- Canada; English language -- Variation -- Canada; Canadianisms
Description: "This book details the development of eleven modal auxiliaries in late 18th- and 19th-century Canadian English in a framework of new-dialect formation. The study assesses features of the modal auxiliaries, tracing influences to British and American input varieties, parallel developments, or Canadian innovations. While the overall results are generally coherent with new-dialect formation theory, the Ontarian context suggests a number of adaptations to the current model."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [305]-349) and index.