This dissertation investigates subject expression patterns in Dominican Spanish (DS). In this variety, the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish co-exist with the widespread use of overt subjects, which are found in specific constructions that are either rare or unattested in other Spanish varieties. Interestingly, these structures co-exist in the Dominican grammar with the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish. While subject expression has been studied in a number of Spanish dialects within the generative and the variationist paradigms, monolingual Dominican Spanish, to the best of my knowledge, has not been investigated in previous variationist work. This study covers this gap by examining a large corpus of spontaneous speech (N=6005) gathered in the capital city of Santo Domingo and a rural area in the northwestern Cibao region. Furthermore, in line with the cohesive approach to syntactic variation developed in recent work (Adger and Smith 2005), theoretical implications are drawn from quantitative results. The results obtained in this study show that null and overt subject patterns in DS are regulated by the same constraints that have been found relevant in previous variationist work, i.e. discourse-related factor groups and Person (Otheguy, Zentella and Livert, 2007). These results depart from previous work in that evidence for language change in progress has been found in subject position patterns, rather than in null and overt subject distribution. When this phenomenon is examined, urban, young, high-middle class and female speakers arise as the social groups leading grammatical restructuring. Quantitative and qualitative evidence is taken into account for testing previous syntactic-theoretical proposals on DS. Taking the cartographic approach to syntactic structure (Rizzi 1997) as a point of departure, it will proposed that multiple specifier positions are available within the TP and CP fields to host strong and weak subjects. This proposal, in turn, makes it possible to account for the Null Subject Parameter profile displayed by synchronic DS without resorting to competing grammars in the minds of the speakers.

This dissertation investigates subject expression patterns in Dominican Spanish (DS). In this variety, the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish co-exist with the widespread use of overt subjects, which are found in specific constructions that are either rare or unattested in other Spanish varieties. Interestingly, these structures co-exist in the Dominican grammar with the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish. While subject expression has been studied in a number of Spanish dialects within the generative and the variationist paradigms, monolingual Dominican Spanish, to the best of my knowledge, has not been investigated in previous variationist work. This study covers this gap by examining a large corpus of spontaneous speech (N=6005) gathered in the capital city of Santo Domingo and a rural area in the northwestern Cibao region. Furthermore, in line with the cohesive approach to syntactic variation developed in recent work (Adger and Smith 2005), theoretical implications are drawn from quantitative results. The results obtained in this study show that null and overt subject patterns in DS are regulated by the same constraints that have been found relevant in previous variationist work, i.e. discourse-related factor groups and Person (Otheguy, Zentella and Livert, 2007). These results depart from previous work in that evidence for language change in progress has been found in subject position patterns, rather than in null and overt subject distribution. When this phenomenon is examined, urban, young, high-middle class and female speakers arise as the social groups leading grammatical restructuring. Quantitative and qualitative evidence is taken into account for testing previous syntactic-theoretical proposals on DS. Taking the cartographic approach to syntactic structure (Rizzi 1997) as a point of departure, it will proposed that multiple specifier positions are available within the TP and CP fields to host strong and weak subjects. This proposal, in turn, makes it possible to account for the Null Subject Parameter profile displayed by synchronic DS without resorting to competing grammars in the minds of the speakers.

This dissertation investigates subject expression patterns in Dominican Spanish (DS). In this variety, the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish co-exist with the widespread use of overt subjects, which are found in specific constructions that are either rare or unattested in other Spanish varieties. Interestingly, these structures co-exist in the Dominican grammar with the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish. While subject expression has been studied in a number of Spanish dialects within the generative and the variationist paradigms, monolingual Dominican Spanish, to the best of my knowledge, has not been investigated in previous variationist work. This study covers this gap by examining a large corpus of spontaneous speech (N=6005) gathered in the capital city of Santo Domingo and a rural area in the northwestern Cibao region. Furthermore, in line with the cohesive approach to syntactic variation developed in recent work (Adger and Smith 2005), theoretical implications are drawn from quantitative results. The results obtained in this study show that null and overt subject patterns in DS are regulated by the same constraints that have been found relevant in previous variationist work, i.e. discourse-related factor groups and Person (Otheguy, Zentella and Livert, 2007). These results depart from previous work in that evidence for language change in progress has been found in subject position patterns, rather than in null and overt subject distribution. When this phenomenon is examined, urban, young, high-middle class and female speakers arise as the social groups leading grammatical restructuring. Quantitative and qualitative evidence is taken into account for testing previous syntactic-theoretical proposals on DS. Taking the cartographic approach to syntactic structure (Rizzi 1997) as a point of departure, it will proposed that multiple specifier positions are available within the TP and CP fields to host strong and weak subjects. This proposal, in turn, makes it possible to account for the Null Subject Parameter profile displayed by synchronic DS without resorting to competing grammars in the minds of the speakers.

This dissertation investigates subject expression patterns in Dominican Spanish (DS). In this variety, the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish co-exist with the widespread use of overt subjects, which are found in specific constructions that are either rare or unattested in other Spanish varieties. Interestingly, these structures co-exist in the Dominican grammar with the null subject constructions associated with Non-Caribbean Spanish. While subject expression has been studied in a number of Spanish dialects within the generative and the variationist paradigms, monolingual Dominican Spanish, to the best of my knowledge, has not been investigated in previous variationist work. This study covers this gap by examining a large corpus of spontaneous speech (N=6005) gathered in the capital city of Santo Domingo and a rural area in the northwestern Cibao region. Furthermore, in line with the cohesive approach to syntactic variation developed in recent work (Adger and Smith 2005), theoretical implications are drawn from quantitative results. The results obtained in this study show that null and overt subject patterns in DS are regulated by the same constraints that have been found relevant in previous variationist work, i.e. discourse-related factor groups and Person (Otheguy, Zentella and Livert, 2007). These results depart from previous work in that evidence for language change in progress has been found in subject position patterns, rather than in null and overt subject distribution. When this phenomenon is examined, urban, young, high-middle class and female speakers arise as the social groups leading grammatical restructuring. Quantitative and qualitative evidence is taken into account for testing previous syntactic-theoretical proposals on DS. Taking the cartographic approach to syntactic structure (Rizzi 1997) as a point of departure, it will proposed that multiple specifier positions are available within the TP and CP fields to host strong and weak subjects. This proposal, in turn, makes it possible to account for the Null Subject Parameter profile displayed by synchronic DS without resorting to competing grammars in the minds of the speakers.

En este artículo se describe el empleo del dequeísmo en el habla santiaguina en la actualidad desde el punto de vista sociolingüístico. Para tal propósito, se analizó una muestra estratificada de entrevistas realizadas a 120 hablantes santiaguinos. Los objetivos del estudio consistieron en identificar los factores internos que propiciaban el empleo del dequeísmo y correlacionarlo con factores sociodemográficos del hablante (sexo, edad y grupo socioeconómico). Los resultados muestran que, en términos relativos, los contextos que más favorecen el dequeísmo son la sustitución de otras preposiciones por de y las estructuras apositivas, si bien la mayoría de los casos de dequeísmo se dieron en cláusulas con las funciones de objeto directo y de sujeto. Asimismo, los factores sociales más sensibles en la ocurrencia del  dequeísmo fueron el sexo del informante y su edad. De este modo, se comprobó que el dequeísmo es más frecuente en los hombres y en los hablantes de edad avanzada de la muestra. / Within a sociolinguistic framework, in this paper, we describe the use of dequeísmo (use of ‘de que’ instead of ‘que’) in the utterances of Spanish speakers living in Santiago de Chile. A stratified sample of 120 interviews with people residing in Santiago was utilized for the analysis. The study intended to 1) identify the internal variables that prompted the use of dequeísmo, and, 2) correlate those variables with sociodemographic of the speakers (gender, age, and socioeconomic status). The results suggest that the contexts that foster the use of dequeísmo frequently allowed for the replacement of other de prepositions and appositive structures, although most cases occurred in clauses with functions of direct object and subject.Additionally, in the sample, the use of dequeísmo was frequently coincided in the speeches of male and older speakers.

Este trabalho descreve o emprego variável de estruturas de negação na variedade paulistana do português. São três as formas variantes: não pré-verbal (NEG1, p.ex. Não gosto de chocolate), não pré e pós-verbal (NEG2, p. ex. Não gosto de chocolate não) e não pós-verbal apenas (NEG3, p. ex. Gosto de chocolate não). A partir da discussão de restrições discursivo-pragmáticas, define-se o envelope de variação (os contextos em que as formas são semanticamente equivalentes). NEG1 e NEG2 são ambas alternativas quando a proposição que está sendo negada foi direta ou indiretamente ativada no discurso anterior. Quando a informação proposicional é nova no discurso, apenas NEG1 é possível. Já NEG3 parece improdutiva na variedade paulistana: representa menos de 1% em mais de cinco mil ocorrências de sentenças negativas. Os dados analisados foram extraídos de 48 entrevistas sociolinguísticas com paulistanos estratificados em Sexo/gênero, Faixa etária e Escolaridade. Elas foram coletadas pelo Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Sociolinguística da Universidade de São Paulo (GESOL-USP), entre os anos de 2003 e 2010. Além da amostra geral (com todas essas entrevistas), são analisadas duas subamostras menores (24 entrevistas cada), organizadas com base na região da cidade em que vivem os paulistanos (mais central ou mais periférica) e na sua geração (filhos de pais paulistanos ou filhos de migrantes de outros estados brasileiros). Os resultados indicam que a variante NEG2, bastante infrequente (cerca de 6% no conjunto de 48 entrevistas), é favorecida por informantes de escolaridade mais baixa e de 1ª geração na cidade de São Paulo. Algumas análises sugerem ainda que informantes que vivem em bairros mais periféricos favorecem NEG2. Não há indícios, contudo, de correlação entre a variável e Sexo/gênero; tampouco há indício de mudança em curso. No âmbito linguístico, a ativação direta de proposições é o fator que mais fortemente favorece o emprego da variante NEG2, seguido da ausência de marcadores discursivos ou de outros termos negativos na sentença. / This masters thesis describes the variable use of negation structures in São Paulo Portuguese. There are three variants: pre-verbal não (NEG1, e.g. Não gosto de chocolate), pre and post-verbal não (NEG2, e.g. Não gosto de chocolate não) and post-verbal não only (NEG3, e.g. Gosto de chocolate não). All of these sentences mean I dont like chocolate. By discussing discourse-pragmatic restrictions on the use of such structures, the envelope of variation is defined as follows: NEG1 and NEG2 can both be employed when the proposition that is being negated was activated earlier (directly or indirectly) in discourse. When the propositional information is discourse-new, only NEG1 is possible. As for NEG3, it seems very unproductive in São Paulo Portuguese; it occurs in less than 1% of 5,000 tokens of negative sentences. The data was extracted from 48 sociolinguistic interviews with Paulistanos (those born and raised in the city of São Paulo) stratified by sex/gender, age group and level of education. From the general corpus of 48 interviews, two subsamples of 24 interviews each have also been analyzed. One of them is based on the region of the city where the informants live (central or peripheral), whereas the other is based on their generation in the city (Paulistano parents or migrants from other states in Brazil). Results show that NEG2 (an infrequent variant about 6% of the tokens extracted from the 48 interviews) is favored by those with lower level of education and by first generation Paulistanos (that is, by those whose parents were not born and raised in the city). Some analyses suggest that NEG2 is also favored by those groups that live in more peripheral areas of São Paulo. There is no indication of correlation between the variable and sex/gender, nor is there any indication of change in progress. Linguistically, the factor that most favors NEG2 is the direct activation of propositional information in discourse, followed by the absence of discourse markers or other negative elements in the sentence.

Este trabalho descreve o emprego variável de estruturas de negação na variedade paulistana do português. São três as formas variantes: não pré-verbal (NEG1, p.ex. Não gosto de chocolate), não pré e pós-verbal (NEG2, p. ex. Não gosto de chocolate não) e não pós-verbal apenas (NEG3, p. ex. Gosto de chocolate não). A partir da discussão de restrições discursivo-pragmáticas, define-se o envelope de variação (os contextos em que as formas são semanticamente equivalentes). NEG1 e NEG2 são ambas alternativas quando a proposição que está sendo negada foi direta ou indiretamente ativada no discurso anterior. Quando a informação proposicional é nova no discurso, apenas NEG1 é possível. Já NEG3 parece improdutiva na variedade paulistana: representa menos de 1% em mais de cinco mil ocorrências de sentenças negativas. Os dados analisados foram extraídos de 48 entrevistas sociolinguísticas com paulistanos estratificados em Sexo/gênero, Faixa etária e Escolaridade. Elas foram coletadas pelo Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Sociolinguística da Universidade de São Paulo (GESOL-USP), entre os anos de 2003 e 2010. Além da amostra geral (com todas essas entrevistas), são analisadas duas subamostras menores (24 entrevistas cada), organizadas com base na região da cidade em que vivem os paulistanos (mais central ou mais periférica) e na sua geração (filhos de pais paulistanos ou filhos de migrantes de outros estados brasileiros). Os resultados indicam que a variante NEG2, bastante infrequente (cerca de 6% no conjunto de 48 entrevistas), é favorecida por informantes de escolaridade mais baixa e de 1ª geração na cidade de São Paulo. Algumas análises sugerem ainda que informantes que vivem em bairros mais periféricos favorecem NEG2. Não há indícios, contudo, de correlação entre a variável e Sexo/gênero; tampouco há indício de mudança em curso. No âmbito linguístico, a ativação direta de proposições é o fator que mais fortemente favorece o emprego da variante NEG2, seguido da ausência de marcadores discursivos ou de outros termos negativos na sentença. / This masters thesis describes the variable use of negation structures in São Paulo Portuguese. There are three variants: pre-verbal não (NEG1, e.g. Não gosto de chocolate), pre and post-verbal não (NEG2, e.g. Não gosto de chocolate não) and post-verbal não only (NEG3, e.g. Gosto de chocolate não). All of these sentences mean I dont like chocolate. By discussing discourse-pragmatic restrictions on the use of such structures, the envelope of variation is defined as follows: NEG1 and NEG2 can both be employed when the proposition that is being negated was activated earlier (directly or indirectly) in discourse. When the propositional information is discourse-new, only NEG1 is possible. As for NEG3, it seems very unproductive in São Paulo Portuguese; it occurs in less than 1% of 5,000 tokens of negative sentences. The data was extracted from 48 sociolinguistic interviews with Paulistanos (those born and raised in the city of São Paulo) stratified by sex/gender, age group and level of education. From the general corpus of 48 interviews, two subsamples of 24 interviews each have also been analyzed. One of them is based on the region of the city where the informants live (central or peripheral), whereas the other is based on their generation in the city (Paulistano parents or migrants from other states in Brazil). Results show that NEG2 (an infrequent variant about 6% of the tokens extracted from the 48 interviews) is favored by those with lower level of education and by first generation Paulistanos (that is, by those whose parents were not born and raised in the city). Some analyses suggest that NEG2 is also favored by those groups that live in more peripheral areas of São Paulo. There is no indication of correlation between the variable and sex/gender, nor is there any indication of change in progress. Linguistically, the factor that most favors NEG2 is the direct activation of propositional information in discourse, followed by the absence of discourse markers or other negative elements in the sentence.

<p>This thesis investigates the use of word order variation, in particular the variable use of subject-verb inversion and non-inversion in main declarative clauses, among adolescents in contemporary multilingual settings in Sweden. The use of non-inversion in contexts that in standard Swedish require inversion is sometimes claimed to be characteristic of varieties of Swedish spoken among adolescents in multilingual urban areas. The present study includes a wide range of data, both spontaneous and elicited, and explores how common the use of non-inversion is among a relatively large group of participants in different contexts, and how the use of non-inversion is influenced by different demographic, linguistic and socio-pragmatic factors.</p><p>The results show that non-inversions are used to a limited extent in all types of data in the studied population. Only certain individuals frequently employ non-inversions in some contexts. Further, no direct link is found between second language acquisition and the use of non-inversion in this study. Factors related to the issue of nativeness, for example participants’ reported age of onset of Swedish acquisition, only marginally explain the results. In general, examples of non-inversion are employed more extensively, and by more participants, in peer-peer interaction than with adults. The use of non-inversion appears to be part of some adolescents’ spontaneous language use in certain contexts. More importantly, however, the results suggest that some adolescents employ non-inversions as an active linguistic resource to express their identification with the multilingual environment and the different varieties of Swedish spoken there, to show solidarity with peers, to contest official school discourses, and to play around with linguistic stereotypes.</p>

This thesis investigates the use of word order variation, in particular the variable use of subject-verb inversion and non-inversion in main declarative clauses, among adolescents in contemporary multilingual settings in Sweden. The use of non-inversion in contexts that in standard Swedish require inversion is sometimes claimed to be characteristic of varieties of Swedish spoken among adolescents in multilingual urban areas. The present study includes a wide range of data, both spontaneous and elicited, and explores how common the use of non-inversion is among a relatively large group of participants in different contexts, and how the use of non-inversion is influenced by different demographic, linguistic and socio-pragmatic factors. The results show that non-inversions are used to a limited extent in all types of data in the studied population. Only certain individuals frequently employ non-inversions in some contexts. Further, no direct link is found between second language acquisition and the use of non-inversion in this study. Factors related to the issue of nativeness, for example participants’ reported age of onset of Swedish acquisition, only marginally explain the results. In general, examples of non-inversion are employed more extensively, and by more participants, in peer-peer interaction than with adults. The use of non-inversion appears to be part of some adolescents’ spontaneous language use in certain contexts. More importantly, however, the results suggest that some adolescents employ non-inversions as an active linguistic resource to express their identification with the multilingual environment and the different varieties of Swedish spoken there, to show solidarity with peers, to contest official school discourses, and to play around with linguistic stereotypes.

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate syntactic variation in certain Present-day English noun phrase types including the quantifiers all, whole, both and half (e.g. a half hour vs. half an hour). More specific research questions concerns the overall frequency distribution of the variants, how they are distributed across regions and media and what linguistic factors influence the choice of variant. The study is based on corpus material comprising three newspapers from 1995 (The Independent, The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald) and two spoken corpora (the dialogue component of the BNC and the Longman Spoken American Corpus). The book presents a number of previously not discussed issues with respect to all, whole, both and half. The study of distribution shows that one form often predominated greatly over the other(s) and that there were several cases of regional variation. A number of linguistic factors further seem to be involved for each of the variables analysed, such as the syntactic function of the noun phrase and the presence of certain elements in the NP or its near co-text. For each of the variables, all factors were ranked according to their strength of correlation with particular variants. The study also discusses a possible grammaticalisation process concerning NPs with half and the possibility of all sometimes having another function than expressing totality: to express large quantity. The whole idea of grammatical synonymy has been questioned by some scholars, but the conclusion drawn in the present study is that there are variables that are at least very close to each other in meaning, and that a number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors influence our choices of variant. A great deal of the information obtained was too detailed to be useful for pedagogical purposes, but in several cases the results could clearly be used to improve school and reference grammars.