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In:Grammatical Change in English World-Wide
Edited by Peter Collins
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 67] 2015
► pp. 119–146

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Cross-variety diachronic drifts and ephemeral regional contrasts

An analysis of modality in the extended Brown family of corpora and what it can tell us about the New Englishes

 | University of Freiburg
Published online: 24 February 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.67.06mai
The present study offers the first analysis of modals and semi-modals which is based on all six completed Brown family corpora (B-Brown, B-LOB, Brown, LOB, Frown, F-LOB) and shows that the dynamics of diachronic change have prevented the emergence and preservation of stable regional contrasts between British and American English. The significance of this finding for the study of modality in the New Englishes is explored. Keywords. modality; ongoing change; British English; American English
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