1
Grammatical change in present-day English: convergence and divergence
in speech and writing
Christian Mair, Freiburg
christian.mair@frias.uni-freiburg.de
1.
Introduction: corpus-based "real time" study of ongoing change
The process of linguistic change has never been directly observed; we shall see that
such observation, with our present facilities, is inconceivable. (Bloomfield 1933: 347;
emphasis C.M.)
This book will show that English is changing today and that you can watch the changes
happening around you. (Bauer 1994: 1)
Fluctuation in the frequency of speech forms is a factor in all non-phonetic changes.
This fluctuation can be observed, to some extent, both at first hand and in our written
records. (Bloomfield 1933: 393; emphasis in the original)
This exploration on the boundaries of sociolinguistic variation, corpus linguistics,
historical linguistics, and syntax demonstrates the value of bridging the gaps between
subfields [...] the field could benefit from more such collaboration. (Rickford et al.
1995: 128)

(a)
(b)
(c)


-
aims of corpus-based work on ongoing change:
to empirically verify/ falsify hypotheses on linguistic change in present-day English
proposed in the linguistic literature;
to uncover instances of change and/ or variation not previously noticed in the literature
through a systematic and exhaustive comparison of frequencies in the corpora;
to use recent developments in national standard varieties of English in order to
investigate the precise mode of interaction between synchronic variation and
diachronic change.
15+ years of real-time corpus-based investigations of ongoing change in
WRITTEN English:
the "Brown family": Brown, LOB, Frown, F-LOB, B-LOB, …
TIME Corpus 1923-2006, COCA, COHA (Mark Davies, http://corpus.byu.edu/time/)
3 years of real-time corpus-based investigations of ongoing change in SPOKEN
English:
Diachronic Corpus of Present-Day Spoken English (DCPSE)
the "1877" watershed
2
five major constellations (not always attested in "clean" form):
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
parallel and simultaneous development in speech and writing
writing following speech, but with a time lag
speech following writing, but with a time lag
innovations exclusive to the spoken medium
changes exclusive to the written language
2.
Americanisation and colloquialisation cum grammaticalisation: help
+ bare infinitive
the variable and its variants:
(A)
no object, to-infinitive:
It is little wonder that droughts, often lasting 10 years in
regions, have helped to cripple the country. (ACE H28a 41 f.)
(B)
no object, bare infinitive:
At Koyuga one night a dance was held to help raise funds for a
beauty queen. (ACE G 22 164 ff.)
(C)
object, to-infinitive:
These blood tests help the clinician to diagnose what is called
“occult heartworm”, i.e. where the disease is severe (lungs
particularly are affected) but the routine blood tests for the
presence of microfilariae (offspring of the adult worms) are
inconclusive. (ACE E17b 60 ff.)
(D)
object, bare infinitive:
A project aimed at helping young people cope with technological
change was launched today at the Futures in Education
Conference in Melbourne. (ACE A15d 2 ff.)
Of the two constructions with help, that with to is more common in BrE, and that
without to is more common in AmE. (Quirk et al. 1985: 1205f.)
Table 1: to- vs. bare infinitives in four corpora
BrE
AmE
1961 (= LOB, Brown)
94:27
55:125
1991/ 92 (F-LOB, Frown)
77:122
44:203
(BrE vs. AmE 1961 p<0.001; BrE vs. AmE 1991/92 p<0.05; BrE diachr. p<0.001;
AmE diachr. p<0.001)
Table 2: complementation of help in the "spoken-demographic" BNC
without following with
following total
NP/ object
NP/ object
help + bare infinitive
34
92
help + to-infinitive
22
44
126
66
3
help in the OED
30
instances per 10 000 quotes
25
20
all relevant uses
help + to + inf
help +zero + inf
15
10
5
-9
0
-7
0
61
81
19
-5
0
19
41
21
-3
0
19
-1
0
19
01
-7
5
19
-2
5
51
18
18
01
-7
5
-2
5
01
51
17
-7
5
17
51
16
16
01
-2
5
0
year
Figure 1: Help + infinitive 1600-2000 – frequency as n/10,000 citations
3.
Parallel change in speech and writing: specificational clefts in Late
Modern English
the variable and its variants:
(A)
marked infinitive:
<DCPSE:DI-D15/ICE-GB:S1B-035 #0083:1:D> What was done was to
develop the techniques of containment deterrents and crisis
management
(B)
unmarked infinitive:
<DCPSE:DI-E05/ICE-GB:S1B-045 #0031:1:B> I always think of them
as the sort of Christmas cake th that's got the wrapping round
it and all that people have done is put a sort of pretty
wrapping <,>
(C)
-ing complement:
<DCPSE:DI-C07/ICE-GB:S1A-097 #0134:1:A> Well it 's very very
unlikely uhm because the other thing I 'm doing is try is
trying to pass a driving test <,,>
 STRUCTURAL RESTRICTIONS?
(D)
finite "echo" clause:
<DCPSE:DI-B01/ICE-GB:S1A-005 #0141:1:B> What they 're doing is
they 're working on the <,> Pascal thing which they'll have to
<,> uhm do at Cambridge because <,> from Agnieszka's point of
view it was so difficult despite the fact that she's <,>
really good
<DCPSE:DL-B28/LLC:S-04-03 #0592:1:A> what I like doing is uhm
<,,> with the Pakistani children and the Indian children the
infants when their tooth falls out in school and they cry <,,>
and if they 've got enough English I explain to them that in
England <,> you put it under the pillow <,>
4
Table 3: Specificational clefts (all types) in five corpora of 20th century WRITTEN English
British English
American English
B-LOB
LOB
F-LOB
Brown
Frown
marked
16
10
5
9
3
infinitive (A)
unmarked
0
5
14
11
17
infinitive (B)
-ing (C)
0
0
2
1
2
significance: n.a
Complements in specificational clefts
in five corpora of 20th century written
English
100%
80%
ing
60%
bare inf.
40%
to-inf.
20%
n
Fr
ow
n
ro
w
B
LO
B
FLO
B
B
LO
B
0%
Fig. 2: Specificational clefts (all types) in five corpora


reversal of preferences in written BrE between 1960s and 1990s
American English in the lead?
Table 4: Four types of specificational clefts in a diachronically layered corpus of SPOKEN
English (DCPSE)
marked inf. (A) unmarked inf. (B) -ing (C)
finite clause (D)
LLC
ICE-GB
31
18
0
6
9
24
1
11
significance: Yates chi square (A:B) p = 0.0030
5
Complements in specificational clefts in two
corpora of 20th century spoken English
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
finite clause
ing
bare inf.
to-inf.
LLC
ICE-GB
Fig. 3: Four types of specificational clefts in the DCPSE

reconstructing the pre-history of spoken English: establishing the age of the
finite-clause construction
(1)
Ay, Sir; and I thank you, the next thing you did, was, you begot me; the
Consequence of which was a s follows […] (Thomas Otway, The Atheist [1684],
Literature online database)
(2)
'But be that as it may,' says he, 'you're improving tenants, and I'm confident my
brother will consider ye; so what you'll do is, you'll give up the possession to
morrow to myself, that will call for it by cock-crow, just for form's sake; and then go
up to the castle with the new lase ready drawn […]' (Maria Edgworth, The Absentee
[1812], Literature online database)
(3)
[…] we didn't roll it down at all, sir: all we did was, we tipped it down just as
carefully […] (Robert Lowell, Antony Brade [1874], Literature online database)
(4)
In McDonald's yesterday there was this woman
smoking in the non-smoking section.
So what I did was, I went over and said
"Go ahead, Dear, blow that smoke in my face."
(Helen Conkling, "In the Harvey Street Diner" [1997], Literature online database)
(5)
He a Tradesman? 'Tis meer Scandal, he never was one. All that he did was, that he
was very obliging, very officious, and as he was a grand Connoisseur in Stuffs, he
used to pick them up every where, have 'em carried to his House and gave 'em to his
Friends for Mony. (Henry Baker and James Miller, The Cit Turn'd Gentleman [1739],
Literature online database)
(6)
[…] The only just Thing the Rogues did, was, That when the Spaniards came on
Shore, they gave my Letter to them, and gave them Provisions and other Relief, as I
had ordered them to do […] (Daniel Defoe, The Farther Adventures of Robinson
Crusoe [1719], Literature online database)
6
(7)
No Madam (I answer'd) 'tis not Blacius but Izadora which has done it, that glorious
confession shee made him in my favour was the essentiall cause of it, all that Blacius
did, was, that he kill'd me not, but 'twas his vnequall'd Daughter gave me my Life by
giving me that which makes me value it […] (Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery,
Parthenissa I [1655], Literature online database)
4.
Do we got a change? Catching early stages of informal and nonstandard innovations on the Web
Table 5: do I got on the Web (17 May 2010) – profiles of three search items
do I got
gesticulating
looking
whole web:
13,100,000
229,000
898,000,0000
English web:
12,800,000
243,000
982,000,000
.uk
413,000
6,730
169,000,000
.ie
21,800
292
2,880,000
.ca
61,400
1,310
20,800,000
.edu
25,900
3,040
17,400,000
.gov
1,780
389
17,900,000
.us
37,000
561
11,500,000
.com
10,900,000
87,800
668,000,000
"groups"
3,120,000
25,100
187,000,000
whole web:
English web:
.uk
.ie
.ca
.edu
.gov
.us
.com
"groups"

(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
do I got
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
gesticulating
0,02
0,02
0,02
0,01
0,02
0,1
0,25
0,02
0,01
0,01
looking
69
77
409
132
339
672
10,056
311
61
59
separating the wheat from the chaff …
Hi How do I got it to work (WebCorp)
where do you got your informations from? wikipedia (WebCorp)
How do I got about doing that? (WebCorp)
What could be the problem or do someone got a sulution for this? (WebCorp)
[source: 10 Oct. 2008, age 36, from Mora, Sweden:
http://mvixcommunity.com/showtopic.php?tid/1486/tp/2/]
(12) "What do they got over there we ain't got here?"
http://www.angelfire.com/az3/twohourwargames/batreps/CA/LGrognard.pdf
7
(13)
(14)

They feel that Brown is the best one out there, but what does that mean for the
defense. Take away the injury-riddled players, and what do you got left? Not much.
(WebCorp)
Mr. D'Ambrosi who testified yesterday that he had paid $16,500 to Mr. Scopo on
lesser projects after the union leader told him 'everybody else does it asked on the
tape: 'Who do I got to go see? Tell me who I got to go see (WebCorp)
do I got:
23 instances in COCA (retrieved in <3 sec)
1 2008 SPOK NBC_Today much, you know, she' s like, OK, what do I got to do?' KOTB: Mm-hmm.
GIFFORD: Oh. Mr-SCARPO:
2 2008 FIC Bk:HalfBloodBrooklyn // -Babe. // -My hair, Joe. // -I know. // -Do I got to lose my hair? // -They
said it'll grow back. // She
3 2006 SPOK PBS_Tavis keep waiting for them to give me a street. Man, what do I got ta do? (Laugh) You
know what? You keep making number
4 2005 SPOK PBS_Tavis I think. Yeah. I think, " OK. What do I got to lose? " So I did that, and then " Big "
came
6 2005 NEWS Chicago and swing-out barbecue pit. He recently told Details magazine, " Where do I got ta be?
Nowhere! But where'm I gon na go? Well let
7 2004 FIC NewEnglandRev at school calls philosophizing anyway. I ask myself why me. Why do I got to be
the one to find out three to five minutes too late that Mr.
8 2002 SPOK NBC_Today other and just -- and what do we have to do to -- do I got to hug you
like -- what -- what do we need to do on –

WebcorpLSE: do I got 54 & do I gotta (93), retrieved in > 2 hrs
English society
8
Rita: " Do I got time to use the bathroom
English society
10 1 Mr. D'Ambrosi who testified yesterday that he had paid
$16,500 to Mr. Scopo on lesser projects after the union leader
told him 'everybody else does it asked on the tape: 'Who do I
got to go see?
English home
9
Do I got them?
English home
1 1
Do I got any of your money?"
English health
7
The first operation I had, I was just learning to speak, and
apparently I said, 'what do I got ?'
English health
27 6 The first operation I had, I was just learning to speak, and
apparently I said, 'what do I got ?'
English arts
9
MAN WHAT DO I GOT TO SAY IT'S MARTIN!
English arts
4
Where do I got to go now?"
English
English
English
English
English
English
English
English
English
English
sport
sport
shopping
shopping
shopping
science
reference
recreation
recreation
news
4
4
9
7
7
8
24 7
7
7
30 9
Do I gotta explain the whole reduction process to you?"
Do I gotta explain the whole reduction process to you?"
How many times do i gotta tell yous to stay off a my arch pad!
What do I gotta do?"
What do I gotta do?"
WHAT DO I GOTTA DO?
Do I gotta move again?"
What do I gotta do?
What do I gotta do?
And why on earth do I gotta pay for them
8
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