In:The Present Perfect and the Preterite in Late Modern and Contemporary English: A corpus-based study of grammatical change
Xinyue Yao
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 114] 2024
► pp. vii–x
Published online: 8 March 2024
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.114.toc
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.114.toc
Table of contents
List of abbreviationsXI
List of tablesXIII
List of figuresXV
Preface and acknowledgementsXVII
Chapter 1.Introduction1
1.1The present perfect and the preterite in the history of English1
1.2Approach, methodology, and data3
1.3General theoretical background6
1.3.1A usage-based perspective on language6
1.3.2Lectal variation and language change9
1.4Overview of the present work15
Chapter 2.Conceptual framework18
2.1Conceptual preliminaries18
2.1.1Tense and aspect18
2.1.2Situation type20
2.1.3The semantics-pragmatics interface23
2.2An integrated framework27
2.2.1The Reichenbachian system of tenses27
2.2.2Current relevance reexamined30
2.2.3Pragmatic interpretation of the present perfect33
2.2.4Variability in perfect uses39
2.2.5Co-occurrence with temporal adverbials45
2.3Chapter summary48
Chapter 3.The diachronic background50
3.1Have-periphrasis and the preterite in Old English50
3.2The origins of the English perfect52
3.3Later developments58
3.4Chapter summary65
Chapter 4.Cross-linguistic variation in tense-aspect systems67
4.1Resultatives, anteriors, and perfectives/pasts67
4.2Pragmatic motivations for grammaticalization70
4.3Divergence from universals73
4.4A new cross-linguistic survey76
4.5Chapter summary87
Chapter 5.General patterns of variation and change in the present perfect
and preterite89
and preterite89
5.1Data89
5.1.1Text selection89
5.1.2Data processing96
5.2Results99
5.2.1Register variation99
5.2.2Register-differentiated paths of change105
5.3Chapter summary108
Chapter 6.Major conditioning factors of change110
6.1Methodological overview110
6.2Variable selection and coding114
6.3Results118
6.3.1Model summary118
6.3.2Temporal specification122
6.3.3Telicity123
6.3.4Transitivity126
6.3.5Negation127
6.3.6Subject type128
6.3.7Clause type128
6.3.8Preceding verb form131
6.3.9Variation across individual texts133
6.4Chapter summary133
Chapter 7.Additional factors: The progressive aspect and temporal adverbials136
7.1Methodological overview136
7.2Variable selection and coding138
7.3Results142
7.3.1Overview142
7.3.2The progressive aspect146
7.3.3Type of temporal adverbial149
7.4Chapter summary159
Chapter 8.Internal and external motivations of change162
8.1Testing the formal leveling hypothesis162
8.1.1The hypothesis explained162
8.1.2Corpus evidence164
8.2Comparison with the present perfect and the preterite in Spanish166
8.2.1Diachronic overview167
8.2.2The grammaticalization paths of the present perfect
and the preterite173
and the preterite173
8.2.3The role of language and dialect contact184
8.3Chapter summary193
Chapter 9.Conclusion195
9.1Summary of findings195
9.2Broader implications200
9.3Future research203
References205
Appendix223
Name index225
Language index229
Subject index231
