This is an innovative study of variation among linguistic items in what has been traditionally described as present perfect contexts. The study offers analyses of new data sets taken from an interestingly diverse set of non-native Englishes. While comprising traditional second-language varieties such as Indian English, Singapore English, East African English in the investigation of the present perfect, the study extends its scope to cover learner varieties of English spoken in Russia and Germany. The author takes her reader on an amazing variationist journey around the globe, revealing chapter after chapter the commonalities and differences in the patterns of use of the English present perfect and, finally, developing a comprehensive perspective allowing for robust generalisations across numerous data sets. Moreover, empirical data serves as a baseline for taking a stand on a number of currently debated issues in variationist sociolinguistics, research on second language acquisition as well as research on linguistic complexity. Thus operating on the interface of various linguistic paradigms, the book addresses a vast audience including students of linguistics and researchers with various fields of specialization.

This book provides a first systematic and comprehensive account of English in East and South Asia (EESA) based on current research by scholars in the field. It has several unique features. Firstly, it provides a rigorous theoretical overview that is necessary for the understanding of EESA in relation to the burgeoning works on World Englishes as a discipline. Secondly, in the section on linguistic features, a systematic template was made available to the contributors so that linguistic coverage of the variety/varieties is similar. Thirdly, the vibrancy of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic realities that govern actual English in use in a wide variety of domains such as social media, the Internet and popular culture/music are discussed. Finally, this volume includes an extensive bibliography of works on EESA, thus providing a useful and valuable resource for language researchers, linguists, classroom educators, policymakers and anyone interested in the topic of EESA or World Englishes. This volume hopes to advance understanding of the spread and development of the different sub-varieties reflecting both the political developments and cultural norms in the region.

It is a well-known fact that the area of the present perfect has always been a hotly contested ground, but recent corpus analyses have shown that grammatical variation in this realm in English is far more pervasive than previously assumed. This volume is the first ever book-length treatment dedicated to corpus-based work on the present perfect. It offers fresh theoretical insights resting on a solid empirical footing and investigates central aspects of language contact and change, grammaticalization, typology, and dialect formation. It sheds light on this morphosyntactic area from different angles, as it comprises both diachronic and synchronic viewpoints. Contributions explore variation in the expression of perfect meaning and the multifunctionality of perfect forms in a number of native and non-native varieties, thus going beyond the traditional British/American English paradigm, while a second focus lies on cross-variety comparisons. Bringing together the knowledge of leading experts in the field, this book represents the state of the art in data-driven research on the present perfect and will be of interest for those working in the fields of language variation and change, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and typology.

It is well known that British and American English differ substantially in their pronunciation and vocabulary - but differences in their grammar have largely been underestimated. This volume focuses on British–American differences in the structure of words and sentences and supports them with computer-aided studies of large text collections. Present-day as well as earlier forms of the two varieties are included in the analyses. This makes it the first book-length treatment of British and American English grammar in contrast, with topics ranging from compound verbs to word order differences and tag questions. The authors explore some of the better-known contrasts, as well as a great variety of innovative themes that have so far received little or no consideration. Bringing together the work of a team of leading scholars in the field, this book will be of interest to those working within the fields of English historical linguistics, language variation and change, and dialectology.

The volume explores the relationship between linguistic universals and language variation. Its contributions identify the recurrent patterns and principles behind the complex spectrum of observable variation. The volume bridges the gap between cross-linguistic variation, regional variation, diachronic variation, contact-induced variation as well as socially conditioned variation. Moreover, it addresses fundamental methodological and theoretical issues of variation research. The volume brings together internationally renowned specialists of their fields while, at the same time, offering a platform for gifted and highly talented young researchers. The authors come from different theoretical backgrounds and through their work illustrate a rich array of scientific methods. All authors share a strong belief in empirically founded theoretical work. The contributions span a high number of languages and dialects from many parts of the world. They are extremely broad in their empirical coverage addressing an impressive selection of grammatical domains.

It is a well-known fact that the area of the present perfect has always been a hotly contested ground, but recent corpus analyses have shown that grammatical variation in this realm in English is far more pervasive than previously assumed. This volume is the first ever book-length treatment dedicated to corpus-based work on the present perfect. It offers fresh theoretical insights resting on a solid empirical footing and investigates central aspects of language contact and change, grammaticalization, typology, and dialect formation. It sheds light on this morphosyntactic area from different angles, as it comprises both diachronic and synchronic viewpoints. Contributions explore variation in the expression of perfect meaning and the multifunctionality of perfect forms in a number of native and non-native varieties, thus going beyond the traditional British/American English paradigm, while a second focus lies on cross-variety comparisons. Bringing together the knowledge of leading experts in the field, this book represents the state of the art in data-driven research on the present perfect and will be of interest for those working in the fields of language variation and change, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and typology.