Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte

Elise Vanderlinden

Language Variation across Varieties of

English: A Corpus-based Exploration

into the Use of Regularised Irregular

Verbs

Masterproef voorgedragen tot het behalen van de graad van

Master in het Vertalen

2014

Promotor Prof. Dr. Bernard De Clerck

Vakgroep Vertalen Tolken Communicatie

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine to ongoing trends of regularisation of irregular

verbs in World Englishes. It does by singling out the -t/-ed (e.g. burnt vs. burned) variation in

preterite forms in a selection of twelve verbs in four varieties of postcolonial English: Philippine

English, Malaysian English, Singapore English and Hong Kong English. First, a benchmark of

comparison will be established by studying these verbs in two inner circle varieties of English,

British and American English on the basis of which the attested patterns in the World Englishes

will be characterised. Secondly, the study will also look into cross- and intra-varietal parallels

and differences and examine the impact of colonisation history (using Schneider’s Dynamic

model), frequency on the behaviour of both verbs and varieties. The results show a complex

picture in which no clear correspondences could be attested between the listed variables and the

attested trends. They do show, however, that regularisation (or the lack of it) seems to be more

verb-related and less variety-related (as often stated in the literature), as fairly similar preferences

can be attested across varieties for some of these verbs. The data used for this study was taken

from the 1.9 billion corpus of Global World Englishes (GloWbe).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank some people without whom the present dissertation would not have been

possible.

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Bernard De Clerck, for his irresistible

enthusiasm regarding the subject of this dissertation, and of course for his invaluable help during

the writing process.

I am also grateful to my family and friends, not only for supporting me during this final year at

University, but especially for encouraging me throughout my entire time at Uni.

Last but not least, many thanks are due to Tine Gheldof, Dries Ledoux, Jonas Lefevere, Evelien

Vindevoghel and Sofie Raes. They have, each in their own way, helped me so much with my

dissertation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of contents ......................................................................................................................... 7

List of figures, tables and abbreviations ....................................................................................... 9

1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 11

1.1 Scope and objectives ................................................................................................ 11

1.2 Overview of dissertation ........................................................................................... 12

2 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................. 13

2.1 Varieties of English .................................................................................................. 13

2.1.1 World Englishes ............................................................................................ 13

2.1.2 The classification of world Englishes ............................................................ 14

2.2 Language variation and change: the regularisation of irregular verbs ........................ 17

2.2.1 General observations ..................................................................................... 17

2.2.2 British vs. American English ......................................................................... 18

2.2.3 World Englishes: a case study ....................................................................... 20

2.3 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................... 21

3 Data and methods ..................................................................................................... 22

3.1 Glowbe: Corpus of Global Web-Based English ........................................................ 22

3.2 Data selection ........................................................................................................... 23

3.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 25

4 Comparative analysis................................................................................................ 25

4.1 General observations ................................................................................................ 25

4.1.1 Regularisation across varieties ...................................................................... 25

4.1.2 Regularisation across verbs ........................................................................... 27

4.2 In-depth analysis ...................................................................................................... 28

5 Accounting for the data ............................................................................................ 36

5.1 Accounting for variation between the varieties ......................................................... 36

5.1.1 Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model .............................................................. 36

5.1.1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 36

5.1.1.2 The Dynamic Model ................................................................................ 37

5.1.1.3 Position of the selected varieties on the Dynamic Model ......................... 39

a The Philippines ..................................................................................... 39

b Malaysia ............................................................................................... 40

c Singapore.............................................................................................. 42

d Hong Kong ........................................................................................... 43

5.1.2 Phases and verbal behaviour compared ................................................................. 44

5.2 Accounting for internal variation .............................................................................. 47

6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 50

8

References ................................................................................................................................. 53

Appendix I ................................................................................................................................ 55

Appendix II ............................................................................................................................... 59

9

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Kachru's concentric circle model ......................................................................... 15

Figure 2 Strevens’s tree diagram of the way English has spread, showing the influence of

the two main branches, i.e. British and American English ................................... 16

Figure 3 McArthur's circle of World English .................................................................... 23

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 General overview -t/-ed proportion across the varieties in decreasing -ed

preference ........................................................................................................... 25

Table 2 Figures for the chi-square test on the general overview for all varieties ............... 26

Table 3 Figures for the chi-square test per variety ............................................................ 26

Table 4 General overview -t/-ed proportion across 12 verbs in order of decreasing -ed

preference ........................................................................................................... 27

Table 5 Figures for the chi-square test per verb................................................................ 28

Table 6 -t/-ed proportion of the 12 verbs across the varieties ........................................... 29

Table 7 Number of verbs per variety preferring -ed and preferring -ed with 75%

or more....................................................................................................................31

Table 8 -t/-ed proportion of the 12 verbs across the varieties shadowing the verbs for

which the results were not significant .................................................................. 34

Table 9 Schematic representation of the reached stages of the varieties with their -ed

preference ........................................................................................................... 45

Table 10 Order of frequency compared with the order of -t preference .............................. 48

Appendix I: Absolute figures from GloWbe

Table 11 General overview -t/-ed variation across the varieties .......................................... 56

Table 12 General overview -t/-ed variation across 12 verbs ............................................... 56

Table 13 Overview -t/-ed variation across the varieties and verbs ...................................... 57

Table 14 -t/-ed variation in BrE across 12 verbs ................................................................ 57

Table 15: -t/-ed variation in AmE across 12 verbs .............................................................. 57

Table 16 -t/-ed variation in PhE across 12 verbs ................................................................ 58

Table 17 -t/-ed variation in MyE across 12 verbs ............................................................... 58

Table 18 -t/-ed variation in SgE across 12 verbs ................................................................ 58

Table 19 -t/-ed variation in HKE across 12 verbs ............................................................... 59

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Appendix II: Chi-square test per variety per verb

Table 20 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in BrE ...................................................................... 60

Table 21 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in AmE .................................................................... 61

Table 22 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in PhE ...................................................................... 61

Table 23 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in MyE .................................................................... 62

Table 24 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in SgE ...................................................................... 62

Table 25 Chi-square test on 12 verbs in HKE .................................................................... 63

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ENL English as a native language

ESL English as a second language

EFL English as a foreign language

IE Indian English

BrE British English

AmE American English

PhE Philippine English

MyE Malaysian English

SgE Singapore English

HKE Hong Kong English

GloWbe Corpus of Global Web-based English

PCE Postcolonial English

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

Due to regularisation processes the number of irregular verbs is gradually decreasing (Lieberman

et al., 2007). One of the obvious signs of these regularisation processes is that many irregular

verbs now also have a regular variant. Verbs that end in the irregular -t in the preterite and in the

past participle, often have a regular variant ending in -ed as well (Biber, 1999). For instance, burn

allows for both the -t and the -ed ending in the preterite and in the past participle. Research has

shown that British English prefers the irregular -t ending, while American English has a

preference for the regular -ed ending (Tottie, 2002; Biber, 1999). Although British and American

English are undeniably the two most important national varieties of English, it is clear that, today

there is no longer just one English language (Bhatt, 2001). At present, there are about 75

territories where English is spoken as a first language or as an unofficial second language in

fields such as education and government (Crystal, 2003). The question then arises as to how the

phenomenon of regularisation manifests itself in other varieties.

The present dissertation therefore aims to research the regularisation of irregular verbs in a

selection of English varieties situated in Kachru’s Outer Circle (see section 2.1). The varieties

from the Outer Circle that have been selected for this dissertation comprise Philippine English,

Malaysian English, Singapore English and Hong Kong English. This dissertation also aims to

research what stance these varieties take on this subject in comparison with British English and

American English. I will examine the regularisation of irregular verbs in these six varieties

through a comparative analysis with a selection of twelve verbs. Furthermore, an attempt will be

made to account for the obtained results.

The present dissertation will primarily probe into the field of language variation and change

through a synchronic study, and will focus on the following research questions:

Q 1 To what extent do irregular verbs with strong -t forms resort to the regularised -ed

form?

Q 2 How does this phenomenon manifest itself in British English and American English?

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Q 3 How does it manifest itself in Philippine English, Malaysian English, Singapore English

and Hong Kong English?

Q 4 How do these varieties differ from one another?

Q 5 Is there internal variation?

Q 6 How can this variation be accounted for?

1.2 OVERVIEW OF DISSERTATION

In Chapter 2 a theoretical framework will be provided. First, I will examine the origins of the

notion World Englishes. The classification of World Englishes will be examined as well and how

this is relevant to the present dissertation. Then I will move on to the regularisation of irregular

verbs. It will be examined how this linguistic phenomenon fits into the wider research area of

language variation and change, and how it manifests itself in the two major national varieties, i.e.

British English and American English. Furthermore, the situation in Indian English will be

examined through a case study. This section will be concluded with a number of hypotheses

based on the systematic review.

Chapter 3 will describe the adopted data and methodology, and Chapter 4 provides a comparative

study observing the -t/-ed variation across the selected varieties and the selected verbs, using the

GloWbe corpus (see section 3.1). In Chapter 5 an attempt will be made to account for any

variation. I will try to explain observed variation between the varieties through Schneider’s

(2007) Dynamic Model, and observed internal variation through the impact of frequency. The

final chapter encompasses the conclusion and will provide a summary of this dissertation, as well

suggestions for future work.

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2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

2.1.1 World Englishes

In the past decades, a general acknowledgement has arisen among scholars that there is no longer

just one English language. Today, a considerable number of varieties of English are used in

diverse sociolinguistic contexts. This phenomenon has been captured under the term World

Englishes (Bhatt, 2001). The plural Englishes is used to emphasise the diversity which this

language displays today, as well as the fact that English no longer has one standardising norm.

Another term for World Englishes is New Englishes, although both terms are characterised by

certain limitations. Indeed, World Englishes might be over-general, while the term New Englishes

is not quite correct; some of these New Englishes are actually older than Australian English, for

instance, which is not considered a New English (Mesthrie and Bhatt, 2008).

Jenkins (2003) divides the Englishes into two groups (British English is excluded here): the first

resulting from the first diaspora, and the second resulting from the second diaspora. The first

group consists of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. English is

spoken as a mother tongue in this group. The second group acquired English through schooling;

the indigenous population learnt it as a second language. These countries include amongst others

India, the Philippines, Nigeria and Singapore. During the first diaspora, English was brought to

new territories by native speakers and was imposed as the sole official language. During the

second diaspora, the natives introduced English as a co-official language (Bhatt, 2001). The term

World Englishes generally concerns the varieties that have emerged during the second diaspora.

Jenkins (2003) refers to features all World Englishes share, formulated originally in Platt et al.

(1984: 2-3):

(i) it was acquired by the natives through schooling;

(ii) the language mostly spoken by the natives was not a native variety of English;

(iii) it is used for a variety of functions by the natives who speak or write it in the region;

(iv) by adopting some linguistic aspects of their own language, it has become nativised.

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Originally, English in Asia and Africa was only spoken by the colonisers form Britain and North

America. The colonisers set up schools in the newly acquired territories to teach the indigenous

people English. After a while, the indigenous people who had mastered English began to teach

their compatriots, instead of the native English speaking colonisers. This English was

unavoidably different from that of their native speaking teachers. As a result, World Englishes

emerged as variety of English developing their own character (Jenkins, 2003).

2.1.2 The classification of World Englishes

Since English has expanded into a language spoken all over the world, it is difficult to establish a

single solid standard on the basis of one of the varieties of English. Nevertheless, such a distinct

and unambiguous standard does seem to be the purpose in the models of English as a world

language (Hundt, 2001). The models are classifications used to arrange all the existing varieties

of English according to what extent they are operated in different countries (Kirkpatrick, 2007).

Most classifications make a basic distinction between English as a native language (ENL),

English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL), on the basis of

which further distinctions are made. ENL is spoken in countries where the majority of the

population speak English as a native language, such as the United Kingdom and the United

States. ESL is spoken in countries where English is an important and often co-official language,

but not the main language. These countries are often ex-colonies of the UK or the US, such as

India, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Lastly, EFL appears in countries where English is usually not

spoken in everyday life. It is taught at school, however. Examples of countries where EFL is

spoken include China and Japan as well as most European countries (Kirkpatrick, 2007).

However, the most influential classification in which these distinctions are conceptualised is the

concentric three circles model by Kachru (see Figure 1). The Inner Circle refers to the

“traditional bases of English” (Crystal, 2003: 60). The Outer Circle encompasses those countries

where English plays an important role in the chief institutions of the country and is often spoken

as a second language. The Expanding Circle includes those countries that acknowledge the

importance of English as an international language, but have not been colonised by countries of

the Inner Circle, nor do they grant English a special status (ibid.). Kirkpatrick (2007) asserts that

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Kachru’s model has two major advantages. In the first place, he states that Kachru’s model

“makes English plural so that one English becomes many Englishes1” (Kirkpatrick, 2007: 28).

Secondly, he praises the model because it does not suggest that one variety is linguistically better

than another.

Figure 1: Kachru's concentric circle model

In addition, the oldest model displaying the spread of English is that of Strevens (see Figure 2)

(Jenkins, 2003). Strevens (1980) argues that another observation can be made regarding the

varieties where English is spoken as a second language, in other words regarding the varieties in

Kachru’s Outer Circle, i.e. whether a variety is oriented towards British English or American

English. He argues that a variety where English is spoken as a second language “is certain to

belong to one branch of the family or the other” (Strevens, 1980: 17). Based on this assumption,

he created a model which is actually a map of the world displaying an upside-down tree diagram

showing the way in which some varieties stem from linguistic contact with Britain, and the others

from linguistic contact with the US (Jenkins, 2003 and Strevens, 1980).

1 Bold font was used by the original author.

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Figure 2: Strevens’s tree diagram of the way English has spread, showing the influence of the two main branches, i.e. British and American English.

The English varieties situated in Kachru’s Outer Circle selected for this dissertation comprise

Philippine English (PhE), Malaysian English (MyE), Singapore English (SgE) and Hong Kong

English (HKE). According to Strevens’s world map of English, PhE is oriented towards AmE.

MyE, SgE and HKE are oriented towards BrE. However, as Jenkins (2003) states, the World

Englishes are varieties of English displaying their own linguistic particularities. Lanssens (2013),

for instance, researched the spelling diversity of World Englishes using ICE data. Proportions of

purported British and American spelling were attested concerning the -ize/-ise, -isation/-ization, -

our/-or, -re/-er and -oes/-os endings in Indian English, Hong Kong English, Tanzanian English

and Jamaican English. The study revealed that HKE, for instance, did not show a clear preference

for either spelling variant. The study further revealed that there is both variation between the

varieties and internal variation.

In this study, I will research to what extent the verbs in the selected World Englishes are subject

to regularisation. More specifically, I will examine whether the selected World English varieties

prefer the irregular -t ending in the preterite (which is assumed to be more typical of BrE; see

section 2.2) or the regular -ed ending (which is assumed to be more typical of AmE; see section

2.2 as well) in verbs that allow for both endings. In addition, I will also examine the position that

they assume towards BrE and AmE. First, however, I will highlight the features of regularisation

of irregular verbs that are most relevant to this dissertation through a concise systematic review,

followed by a case study.

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2.2 LANGUAGE VARIATION AND CHANGE: THE REGULARISATION OF

IRREGULAR VERBS

2.2.1 General observations

Language variation is the variable use of forms of a language; i.e. in this study the variable use of

the -t or -ed ending in the preterite of different varieties of English (Swann, Deumert et al., 2004).

Language change refers to the fact that all natural languages are in a constant state of flux on

every linguistic level; I will examine the changing preference of an irregular verb for the regular -

ed ending over the irregular -t ending, i.e. the regularisation of irregular verbs (Swann, Deumert

et al., 2004).

The regularisation of irregular verbs is the process of gradual decrease of some particular

grammatical rules. Verbs that are conjugated in accordance with the standard rules of the native

language are called regular verbs (Lieberman et al., 2007). In Modern English, the preterite and

the past participle of regular lexical verbs are formed by adding the suffix -ed to the stem. This

rule does not apply, however, to irregular verbs. (Biber et al., 1999). Irregular verbs obey

exceptional rules, or sometimes no rules at (Lieberman et al., 2007). Regular and irregular verbs

are identical regarding their morphology for -(e)s forms and -ing forms, but they differ in the

formation of the preterite and the past participle. There are many irregular variants, however, that

have a regular variant as well. The verb burn, for instance, allows for both burnt and burned in

the preterite and in the past participle. If this is the case, there is usually a clear preference for one

alternative or the other (Biber et al., 1999). This will be further discussed in the following

section.

The possible reasons for regularisation are multiple. One reason for regularisation could be found

in the combination of “laziness” and imitation (Mencken, 2009: 277). It might appear rather

paradoxical that laziness could account for change, while this is tantamount to the wish to take

well-worn paths rather than inventing something new. However, Kroch (2001: 700) states that

language change is inevitably “a failure in the transmission across time of linguistic features”.

This basically means that adult native speakers of a language replace a particular linguistic

feature by another feature for some reason, which is the case when newly coined terms replace

old ones. However, the situation is somewhat different for syntactic features: syntactic language

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change seems to be the result of hiccups in language acquisition. The reason for these hiccups

must be sought either in some change in the character of the attainable evidence to the learners or

in some change in the learners themselves (Kroch, 2001). In addition, research has shown that

high-frequency patterns are learnt more easily than low-frequency irregular patterns (Seidenberg

and McClelland, 1989 cited in Hare and Elman, 1995). In other words: it is possible that at some

point, the transfer of the past tense of a particular irregular verb to a learner has gone awry for

some reason. As a result, the learner resorts to what he already knows and forms the past tense of

the verb in analogy to the better known, regular verbs. Regularisation is, after all, inherently a

form of simplification; in other words, it makes the language less complicated (Mencken, 2009). I

will now turn to the situation in the two main varieties of English: British English and American

English.

2.2.2 British vs. American English

On the phonological, lexical and pragmatic level, the British-American differences have been

widely observed and described, while the grammatical differences have been pushed to one side.

Possible reasons for this are the insufficient amount of data for a contrastive study and the view

that there are hardly any grammatical differences to describe at all (Rhodenburg and Schlüter,

2009). In theory, three types of grammatical variation between national varieties can be

distinguished (Hundt, 2001):

(i) absolute differences in basic rules;

(ii) statistical tendencies (structures used more or less in a particular variety);

(iii) authentic national collocations or idioms.

The last type rarely occurs and there has never even been an actual example of the first type. It is

the second type that accounts for the major part of grammatical variation and it is this type that is

also of interest for the present dissertation (ibid.). I will particularly discuss the morphological

variation by looking into the -t/-ed variation in the preterite.

As mentioned in the previous section, some verbs that are irregular in the past tense, allow for the

regular variant as well; and when they do, there is usually a preference for either one ending or

the other (Biber et al., 1999). It has been observed that BrE has a preference for the irregular -t

19

ending, while AmE displays a clear preference for the regular -ed ending (Tottie, 2002)2.

Linguists researching this field do not always agree about the extent to which the irregular forms

are used in these two varieties, but most scholars agree that AmE is far more advanced in the

regularisation of irregular verbs than BrE. As AmE initiates many grammatical changes, it might

be expected that BrE will follow the American example and will display an increased use of the

-ed form in the future3 (Levin, 2009). Moreover, the expected trend is towards an increased use of

the regular -ed ending, and it could therefore be expected that AmE will be more advanced than

BrE in this respect (Biber et al., 1999). Research has also shown that there is variation in both

varieties, but that AmE displays much less variation than BrE. The expected trend for BrE is that

it will hold on to its irregulars, as the irregular form is deeply embedded in this variety (Levin,

2009).

However, it would be erroneous to assume that BrE has never embraced the regular past form for

its irregular verbs. Diachronic research has shown that the regularisation process was already

well in operation in BrE before it spread to AmE, but in the second half of the twentieth century

the irregular forms gained popularity once more in BrE. The current British preference for the

irregular past forms may be due a conservative strategy implying that the regular forms are

morphological Americanisms and therefore to be avoided. In any event, although AmE was

initially lagging behind in the ongoing process of regularisation, it is now without doubt in the

lead regarding the regularisation of irregular verbs in the preterite and past participle (Hundt,

2009).

In the following section, I will examine a case study displaying the situation in Indian English

(IE), as IE is also a variety located in Kachru’s Outer Circle.

2 It is noteworthy, however, to remark that the differences between British and American grammar are rarely

categorical. After all, both speakers generally use the same grammar; it is the variation between the varieties in the

use of the rules that is of interest (Tottie, 2009). 3 Caution must be exercised when putting forward such an assumption, since there are also preserving forces at work.

Indeed, the different past endings represent a different function: the irregular form is used more frequently “with

punctual action, in the past participle, in the passive and in adjectival uses”. Therefore, these specific functions

ascertain that the irregular past form is not (yet) discarded (Levin, 2009: 82).

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2.2.3 World Englishes: a case study

In De Clerck and Van Opstal (2014) it was examined whether IE is also subject to the forces of

regularisation and, if so, to what extent. The study attempts to account for internal variation

exploring the impact of frequency and vowel change. Thirteen verbs were selected, i.e. burn,

dream, dwell, kneel, lean, leap, learn, light, smell, speed, spell, spill and spoil, and it was

examined to what extent these verbs prefer the regular -ed or the irregular -t ending in IE with

respect to BrE and AmE.

For the synchronic analysis, data from the GloWbe (see section 3.1) corpus was extracted. It was

apparent from this research that all three varieties prefer the regular -ed ending, but that there

seems to be a difference concerning the preterite and the past participle: the -ed forms are first

established in the preterite and then in the past participle. This process also evolves at a different

pace in AmE, BrE and IE. Furthermore, most verbs prefer the -ed ending, but some verbs display

a clear preference for the -t ending. It was also observed that AmE clearly displays the most

pronounced preferences. In BrE, fewer verbs displaying a clear preference could be

distinguished. In general, the verbs that show a strong preference for the -t ending in BrE are the

same verbs that show a strong preference for the -t ending in AmE, except for leap. IE shows

both analogies and differences in this respect. Only six verbs show a strong preference for either

the -t or -ed ending, which is the same as in BrE and unlike AmE. The verbs displaying a clear

preference for the -t ending are again dwell, kneel, speed and light, but unlike BrE, spill and lean

show a strong preference for the -ed ending. IE also displays an exception when compared with

BrE and AmE: IE displays a central tendency (45% up to 55%) for the -t ending in dream. Spoil,

on the other hand, displays a stronger preference for the -ed ending than it does in BrE.

In conclusion, some of the general trends reappear in IE, such as the resolute preference for the -t

ending that some verbs display and the milder preference for the -ed ending like in BrE, but

unlike AmE. However, exceptions have been observed too, like the preference of dream for the

-t ending, which is unlike BrE and AmE, and the preference of spoil for the -ed ending like AmE,

and unlike BrE.

In addition, no link was established between the frequency and the preference for the -t ending.

However, vowel change could possibly account for the internal variation, as the data showed that

21

there is indeed a tendency towards a stronger preference for the -t ending in verbs with vowel

change, although it should be noted that this is not more than a trend (De Clerck and Van Opstal,

2014).

2.3 HYPOTHESES

On the basis of this systematic review, four hypotheses were formulated regarding the expected

outcome of the comparative study of selected varieties PhE, MyE, SgE and HKE.

H 1 Regularisation of irregular verbs ending in -t in the preterite and the participle form

has been observed in both BrE and AmE (Biber, 1999; Tottie, 2002; Levin, 2009).

Regularisation will therefore also be observed in the past tense for this type of verbs in

PhE, MyE, SgE and HKE, as these varieties originate from BrE and AmE.

H 2 Variation between the varieties will be observed. In addition, it is expected that the results

from MyE, SgE and HKE will be relatively comparable to the results from BrE, as these

varieties have British roots according to Strevens’s Map. It is expected that the results

from PhE will be relatively comparable to those of AmE, as PhE has American roots

according to Strevens’s map.

H 3 Internal variation will be observed in the selected varieties, as it has been observed in

IE in De Clerck and Van Opstal (2014) and in Levin (2009).

H 4 The selected verbs will behave in a similar way across the different varieties, as it has

also been observed in De Clerck and Van Opstal (2014) and in Levin (2009).

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3 DATA AND METHODS

3.1 GLOWBE: CORPUS OF GLOBAL WEB-BASED ENGLISH

The data used for this study was retrieved from the Corpus of Global Web-Based English

(GloWbe). The Corpus was created by Mark Davies of Brigham Young University, situated in

Provo, Utah, USA, and was released in 2013. It is composed of 1.9 billion words from 1.8 billion

web pages extracted from 340, 000 websites in 20 English-speaking countries. With its 1.9 billion

words of text, the GloWbe Corpus is more than four times larger than the COCA Corpus (Corpus

of Contemporary American English), and nearly twenty times larger than the BNC (British

National Corpus). The size is therefore an advantage for this research, since it offers a richness

that the other corpora could not have provided (Davies, 2013). However, quantity does not

necessarily mean quality. GlowBe data is representative for web data, but this does not

necessarily mean that it is representative for the varieties.

However, the real strength of this corpus is the possibility to provide data on differences between

varieties of English, as it contains data of 20 different English-speaking countries4. In this way, it

is possible to compare the frequency of a word, phrase or grammatical construction, which makes

it suited for this study. Kirkpatrick (2007: 133) describes the major advantage of researches using

large corpora containing different varieties of the language in question: “[…] as it allows

researchers to analyse the use of specific features across a wide range of varieties of English and

allows researchers to identify which features are shared across several varieties and which may

be specific to just one”.

One last advantage of GloWbe is the material of which the data is constituted, i.e. web pages.

These reflect the current linguistic situation in the varieties rather well, as web pages are a very

agile and current genre, and therefore likely to quickly adopt any changes.

4 At present, following countries are included: the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New

Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, South Africa,

Nigeria, Ghana, Kenia, Tanzania and Jamaica.

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3.2 DATA SELECTION

This study concerns the following varieties: AmE, BrE, PhE, MyE, SgE and HKE. The varieties

have been selected on the basis of a number of practical reasons. First of all: AmE and BrE, being

the two main varieties of English, serve as a benchmark of comparison for the other varieties,

whose English is deduced from either AmE or BrE (see section 2.1). The selected varieties from

Kachru’s Outer Circle (see section 2.1), i.e. PhE, MyE, SgE and HKE, are chosen on the basis of

their geographical proximity. McArthur’s Circle of World English (see Figure 3) classified the

selected varieties under the heading “East Asian Standardizing English” (Mesthrie and Bhatt,

2008). These varieties are also incorporated in GloWbe, and can therefore be compared with one

another on the basis of the data in this corpus. Lastly, the varieties also have a different colonial

history, as PhE has been colonised by the Americans, and MyE, SgE and HKE have been

colonised by Britain (see section 5.1). This could possibly lead to interesting observations

concerning the variation between the varieties.

Figure 3: McArthur's circle of World English

The verbs have been selected on the basis of their past form. The verbs that end in -t in the

preterite and the past participle, but also allow for the regular -ed ending, have been selected5.

Subsequently the following twelve verbs were chosen for this study: burn, bless, lean, learn,

5 According to the list of irregular verbs featuring in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003).

24

spill, spell, smell, spoil, dream, leap, dwell and kneel in written AmE, BrE, PhE, MyE, SgE and

HKE.

3.3 METHODOLOGY

I will only focus on the preterite as accuracy testing of part-of-speech tags (based on random

samples of 100 instances for a selection of verbs) for preterite and past participle uses turned out

to be near perfect for preterites, but an error rate of 10% was attested for past participles (see De

Clerck and Van Opstal, 2014). For the selection of the preterites, I made use of the PoS list on

GloWbe and inserted for each verb the following PoS tag: [v?d*]. For instance for burn:

burned.[v?d*] to find its preterites ending in -ed, and burnt.[v?*d] to find its preterites ending in

-t6.

When the frequencies of the -t forms and the -ed forms for the selected verbs of the selected

varieties were obtained, the total frequencies for both the -t ending and the -ed ending were

accumulated per variety. Then the total frequencies of each verb were calculated per ending by

accumulating the frequencies of the selected varieties. Subsequently, a combination of these two

elements was calculated, resulting in the frequencies of the -t and -ed ending for each verb per

selected variety. The proportions were calculated for each of the acquired results, in order to

provide a clearer display of the results.

Furthermore, the results were submitted to statistical analysis through the chi-square test to test

the significance of distribution of the -t and the -ed ending7. If the p-value is lower than the

predetermined significance level of 0.05, the differences are found to be statistically significant. I

made a distinction between two significance levels, i.e. 0.05 and 0.01. A highly significant

difference, i.e. lower than 0.01, is denoted by three asterisks (***), whereas a significant

difference, i.e. lower than the 0.05, is denoted by one asterisk (*). Not significant differences do

not receive any asterisks. I rounded the results of the p-value to three decimal places.

6 The accuracy of the PoS tagging appeared to be very high when the keywords in context were verified.

7 The statistical tests were carried out online via the website http://www.quantpsy.org/chisq/chisq.htm.

25

4 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

4.1 General observations

4.1.1 Regularisation across varieties

I will first analyse whether the selected varieties prefer -t or -ed endings in general, and what

stance they assume towards British and American English. Table 1 provides an overview of the

proportions of the -t and -ed uses in each of the selected varieties for all twelve verbs, in order of

decreasing -ed preference8.

AmE PhE HKE BrE MyE SgE

-t -ed -t -ed -t -ed -t -ed -t -ed -t -ed .08 .92 .10 .90 .27 .73 .32 .68 .34 .66 .36 .64 Table 1: General overview -t/-ed proportion across the varieties in decreasing -ed preference

A number of observations can be made on the basis of this table. First of all, it shows that all six

varieties prefer the regular -ed ending. AmE indeed displays the clearest preference for the -ed

ending, as was expected from the systematic review (see Chapter 2). PhE shows a strong

preference (75% or more) for the -ed ending as well. These two varieties clearly show the most

notorious preference for the regular -ed ending, with AmE displaying a 92% preference and PhE

displaying a 90% preference. The other varieties display a milder preference for the -ed ending

regarding the former two varieties, yet it is still clear that the regular past form is well preferred

over the irregular past form. HKE displays a 73% preference for the regular -ed ending;

apparently, it displays a stronger preference for the regular form than BrE, which shows a

preference of 68% for the -ed ending. Out of the selected varieties, MyE and SgE display the

mildest preference for the -ed ending: respectively 66% and 64 %. Overall, it can be said that the

regular past forms are clearly preferred in any of the examined varieties, with AmE and PhE

displaying a very pronounced preference for the -ed ending, followed by HKE. BrE, MyE and

SgE are all closely positioned to one another, with a respective majority for the -ed ending of

68%, 66% and 64%.

In order to examine whether the distribution of the -t and -ed ending for all varieties taken

together is statistically significant, the chi-square was calculated. A contingency row was built

with two rows (representing the values for the -t and -ed ending) and six columns (representing

8 For a full overview of the absolute figures, Appendix I can be consulted.

26

the varieties). The chi-square test showed a p-value lower than 0.01, which means that the

difference is highly significant (see Table 2).

-t -ed Total Statistical significance

All varieties 13171 54260 67431 0.000*** (χ²= 6346.338)

Table 2: Figures for the chi-square test on the general overview for all varieties

This goes for the results of the chi-square test per variety as well (see Table 3): every test showed

a p-value lower than 0.01, which means that the differences are all highly significant. For this

table, the chi-square goodness of fit test was used, which means that the expected frequencies

were inserted. The expected frequency for each group is the average frequency of the -t and -ed

frequencies taken together.

-t -ed Statistical significance

BrE Observed 7467 14734 0000***

(χ²= 2378.69) Expected 11100.5 11100.5

AmE Observed 2393 29550 0.000***

(χ²= 23088.083) Expected 15971.5 15971.5

PhE Observed 426 3878 0.000***

(χ²= 2768.658) Expected 2152 2152

MyE Observed 919 1789 0.000***

(χ²= 279.505) Expected 1354 1354

SgE Observed 1095 1981 0.000***

(χ²= 255.2) Expected 1538 1538

HKE Observed 871 2328 0.000***

(χ²= 663.598) Expected 1599,5 1599,5

Table 3: Figures for the chi-square test per variety

However, the frequency of the verbs has a major impact on the general preference for either -t or

-ed. A high-frequency verb that prefers mostly the -ed ending, will increase the proportion

towards the -ed ending; hence the importance of examining the selected verbs individually.

27

4.2 Regularisation across verbs

The individual behaviour of the selected verbs will be examined on the basis of the data provided

in Table 4.

-t -ed

Bless .01 .99 Burn .12 .88 Lean .13 .87 Learn .15 .85 Spill .19 .81 Spell .21 .79 Smell .23 .77 Spoil .26 .74 Dream .34 .66 Leap .65 .35 Dwell .76 .24 Kneel .88 .12 Table 4: General overview -t/-ed proportion across 12 verbs in order of decreasing -ed preference

Table 4 clearly illustrates that there is variation between these verbs concerning their preference

for either the -t or the -ed ending. Some verbs display an obvious preference for the -t ending,

while others follow the regular pattern and prefer the -ed ending. In this research, three out of

twelve verbs prefer the irregular -t ending, i.e. dwell, kneel and leap, while the other nine verbs

favour the regular -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil. The

extent to which these verbs prefer one ending or the other also differs. In ten out of twelve cases,

the verbs show a strong inclination towards either one ending or the other, with nine out of

twelve verbs showing a 75% or more preference (spoil shows a 74% preference for the -ed

ending). For dream, which prefers the regular past ending, and for leap, which prefers the

irregular past ending, however, the distinction is not that obvious with an average 65% -t/ 35% -

ed ratio for the latter and vice versa for the former. However, these verbs still display a rather

outspoken preference for either -t or -ed, but not as outspoken as the other verbs. From this data it

is also obvious that bless is rarely used in the irregular form given the 1% -t/ 99% -ed ratio.

Overall, it may be concluded that most verbs clearly prefer the regular -ed ending, but that there

are a few verbs, i.e. dwell, kneel and leap, that display a notorious preference for the irregular -t

ending. It can also be concluded that the preferences are generally very outspoken, as nearly ten

out of twelve verbs display a 75% or more preference towards one ending or the other. The chi-

square test was calculated again based on these figures (see Table 5).

28

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 592 4292 0.000*** (χ²= 2803.03) Expected 2442 2442

Bless Observed 13 1535 0.000*** (χ²= 1496.437) Expected 774 774

Dream Observed 1287 2495 0.000*** (χ²= 385.845) Expected 1891 1891

Dwell Observed 381 122 0.000*** (χ²= 133.362) Expected 251.5 251.5

Kneel Observed 896 124 0.000*** (χ²= 584.298) Expected 510 510

Lean Observed 457 2985 0.000*** (χ²= 1856.707) Expected 1721 1721

Leap Observed 1427 785 0.000*** (χ²= 186.331) Expected 1106 1106

Learn Observed 6557 36613 0.000*** (χ²= 20925.715) Expected 21585 21585

Smell Observed 556 1899 0.000*** (χ²= 734.684) Expected 1227.5 1227.5

Spell Observed 409 1541 0.000*** (χ²= 657.141) Expected 975 975

Spill Observed 238 1017 0.000*** (χ²= 483.539) Expected 627.5 627.5

Spoil Observed 380 1055 0.000*** (χ²= 317.509) Expected 717.5 717.5

Table 5: Figures for the chi-square test per verb

Again, the results appeared to be highly significant, as the p-value did not surpass 0.01 in any of

the tests.

It should be noted, however, that these are just general tendencies. These figures may still

conceal much variation across the selected varieties. Therefore, I will discuss the frequencies of

the -t/-ed variation per verb across the selected varieties in the following section.

4.2 In-depth analysis

Table 3 provides an overview of the -t/-ed variation between the selected verbs across the six

selected varieties. First, variation between the varieties will be discussed, followed by a

discussion on internal variation.

29

BrE -t -ed

AmE -t -ed

PhE -t -ed

MyE -t -ed

SgE -t -ed

HKE -t -ed

Burn .18 .82 .07 .93 .09 .91 .26 .74 .21 .79 .15 .85 Bless .02 .98 .01 .99 .01 .99 .01 .99 0 1 0 1 Dream .41 .59 .24 .76 .40 .60 .50 .50 .46 .54 .31 .69 Dwell .69 .31 .79 .21 .85 .15 .63 .37 .44 .56 .71 .29 Kneel .90 .10 .86 .14 .86 .14 .88 .11 .76 .24 .97 .03 Lean .25 .75 .03 .97 .12 .88 .06 .94 .07 .93 .20 .80 Leap .78 .22 .50 .50 .25 .75 .72 .28 .61 .39 .50 .50 Learn .30 .70 .03 .97 .04 .96 .32 .68 .38 .62 .25 .75 Smell .41 .59 .08 .92 .11 .89 .31 .69 .17 .83 .28 .72 Spell .42 .58 .06 .94 .07 .93 .32 .68 .35 .65 .32 .68 Spill .30 .70 .09 .91 .05 .95 .32 .68 .19 .81 .17 .83 Spoil .44 .56 .04 .96 .05 .95 .51 .49 .46 .54 .37 .63 Table 6: -t/-ed proportion of the 12 verbs across the varieties

From Table 6 can be deduced that in BrE, nine out of twelve verbs prefer the regular -ed ending,

i.e. burn, bless, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil; only dwell, kneel and leap prefer

the irregular past form. However, the preferences are not as outspoken as was shown in the

previous sections. Dream, smell, spell and spoil display a preference ratio of about 50% to 60%

for the regular -ed ending. Only five verbs, i.e. burn, bless and lean (preferring the -ed ending),

and kneel and leap (preferring the -t ending), show a strong preference of 75% or more.

In AmE, nine out of twelve verbs prefer the regular -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, dream, lean,

learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil. Leap displays a 50%-50% ratio, and dwell and kneel prefer the

irregular -t ending. It is clear that in AmE preferences are more outspoken than in BrE: eleven out

of twelve verbs show a strong preference of 75% or more for either one or the other ending. Only

leap appears to be a case of doubt displaying a 50%-50% ratio. In BrE, this verb preferred the -t

ending displaying an outspoken 78% preference.

PhE appears to show an even clearer preference for the regular -ed ending than AmE: ten out of

twelve verbs prefer the -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, dream, lean, leap, learn, smell, spell, spill,

spoil. Only dwell and kneel prefer the irregular -t ending. Moreover, the -ed preferences are also

more outspoken than in AmE. Leap, which is the one verb that does not show a strong preference

in AmE displaying a 50% preference, shows a 75% -ed preference in PhE. The one verb that does

not show a strong preference in PhE, i.e. dream, still displays a 60% -ed preference. In total,

eleven out of twelve verbs show a strong preference of 75% or more, like in AmE.

30

In MyE, only seven out of twelve verbs prefer the regular -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, lean, learn,

smell, spell and spill. Dwell, kneel, leap and spoil prefer the irregular -t ending, and dream

displays a 50%-50% ratio. The preferences are not very outspoken compared with AmE and PhE,

and seem to be more in line with BrE. Only three out of twelve verbs display a strong preference

of 75% or more towards either one or the other ending, i.e. bless, lean (preferring the regular -ed)

and kneel (preferring the irregular -t). BrE displayed five verbs with a strong preference, AmE

and PhE eleven. However, burn (preferring the -ed ending) and leap (preferring the -t ending)

display a preference between 70% and 75%, which could still be considered to be substantial.

Dwell (preferring the -t ending), learn, smell, spell, spill (preferring the -ed ending) show a

preference ranging from 63% up to 69%. Only spoil (preferring the -t ending) shows a mild

preference of 51%.

In SgE, ten out of twelve verbs prefer the regular -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, dream, dwell, lean,

learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil. Consequently, SgE and PhE display the most verbs preferring

the -ed ending in this study. Only leap and kneel prefer the irregular -t ending (in PhE only dwell

and kneel preferred the -t ending). However, the preferences for one ending or the other are not

very outspoken: only five out of twelve verbs show a strong preference of 75% or more, i.e. burn,

bless, lean, smell (preferring the regular -ed) and kneel (preferring the irregular -t). In SgE, it is

notable that many of the selected verbs display a relatively mild preference: six out of twelve

verbs show a preference ratio of 54% (dream and spoil) up to 65% (spell). In addition, there are

no cases of bless with the -t ending.

In HKE, nine out of twelve verbs prefer the regular -ed ending, i.e. burn, bless, dream, lean,

learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil. This is the same number as in BrE and AmE. Dwell and kneel

are the only verbs that prefer the irregular -t ending; which is like in AmE and PhE.

Consequently, one verb displays a 50%-50% ratio, which is leap. Six out of twelve verbs show a

strong preference of 75% or more, i.e. burn, bless, kneel, lean, learn and spill. However, the

remaining verbs (except for leap) show a preference ratio between 63% and 72%, which can still

be considered to be relatively substantial. In HKE, too, there are no cases of bless in the irregular

past form.

In conclusion, PhE clearly displays the most notorious preference for the regular -ed ending

owing to the combination of both ten out of twelve verbs preferring the -ed ending and the

31

strongest preferences, with eleven out of twelve verbs displaying of preference of 75% or more.

However, AmE displays a clear preference for the -ed ending as well, with nine out of twelve

verbs preferring the -ed ending, and one verb displaying a 50%-50% ratio. Furthermore, AmE

shows very outspoken preferences as well: eleven out of twelve verbs prefer display a preference

of 75% or more, which is the same as in PhE. In SgE, ten out of twelve verbs prefer the -ed

ending, which is the same figure as in PhE, but it does not display many verbs with a strong

preference: only five out of twelve verbs display a strong preference. HKE, then, displays nine

out of twelve verbs preferring the -ed ending, with one verb displaying a 50%-50% ratio. Six out

of twelve verbs show a strong preference of 75% or more towards one ending or the other.

Furthermore, BrE also displays nine out of twelve verbs preferring the -ed ending, but only five

verbs showing a strong preference of 75% or more. Lastly, the regular -ed ending is used the least

in MyE: only seven out of twelve verbs prefer the -ed ending, with one verb displaying a 50%-

50% ratio. Four verbs prefer the irregular -t in MyE, which is the highest number in this research.

In terms of preference, it may be concluded from Table 7 that PhE seems to follow the same

patterns as AmE, displaying the same amount of verbs preferring the -ed ending with 75% or

more. Although SgE displays as many verbs preferring the -ed as PhE, which is the highest

number compared with the rest of the selected varieties, the number of verbs showing a strong

preference for the -ed ending is rather small and more in the line with BrE, MyE and HKE.

-ed -ed (75% or more)

BrE 9 3

AmE 9 9

PhE 10 9

MyE 7 2

SgE 10 4

HKE 9 4

Table 7: Number of verbs per variety preferring -ed and preferring -ed with 75% or more

As for the internal variation, it may be concluded that in all six varieties the following verbs are

distinctly preferred with the regular -ed ending: burn, bless, lean, learn, smell, spell and spill.

Dream is also always preferred with the -ed ending, except in MyE, where this verb displays a

50%-50% ratio. Dwell is always preferred with the -t ending, except in SgE. Kneel is the only

32

verb that is always preferred in the irregular past form. Leap is preferred in the irregular form in

half of the selected varieties, i.e. in BrE, MyE and SgE. Leap shows a 50%-50% ratio in AmE

and HKE, and is only preferred in PhE with the regular -ed ending. Spoil is generally preferred in

the regular past form, except in MyE, but SgE and BrE prefer it only by a narrow majority,

respectively 54% and 56%.

After this general overview, a few points deserve attention:

(i) it is remarkable that SgE displays ten out of twelve verbs preferring the regular -ed

ending, while MyE displays only seven verbs preferring the -ed ending. Moreover,

only two of these verbs prefer the -ed ending with 75% or more. These varieties have

a long mutual colonial history (see section 5.1), and it would be expected that these

varieties develop in the same direction, which is not the case;

(ii) while every variety shows a general preference for the -ed ending, the amount of verbs

displaying an -ed preference per variety does not immediately display the varieties

that notoriously prefer the -ed ending, but the amount of verbs showing a strong

preference does;

(iii) BrE and AmE do not display such different patterns as would be expected from the

literature;

(iv) the varieties of Kachru’s Outer Circle do not seem to behave quite accordingly to their

linguistic roots (see section 2.1); indeed, PhE follows the same rough patterns as

AmE, but SgE and HKE seem to follow a pattern somewhat divergent from BrE;

(v) the selected verbs do not always display the same preference across the selected

varieties: eight out of twelve verbs always prefer the same ending across the varieties,

but this is not the case for four verbs, i.e. dream, leap, spoil and dwell;

(vi) the general overview across the varieties generally appeared to be a rather good

prognosticator for the variation of the selected verbs across the selected varieties,

except for MyE and SgE. According to Table 1, SgE displays the least verbs

preferring the regular past form, followed by MyE. According to Table 6, however,

this is not the case. MyE displays the least verbs preferring the -ed ending of all the

selected varieties, while SgE shows the most verbs preferring the -ed ending (together

with PhE);

33

(vii) the same goes for the general overview across the verbs: dwell, kneel and leap were

indeed the verbs most frequently preferred with the -t ending, as was observed in

Table 4.

I will now examine the verbs per variety after the results of the chi-square goodness of fit test9.

The chi-square tests on the selected verbs in BrE (see Table 20) showed verb a p-value below

0.01 for each verb, which means that the difference between the -t ending and the -ed ending was

found to be statistically highly significant. The chi-square test on the selected verbs in AmE (see

Table 21) provided for all verbs, except for leap, a p-value below 0.01, which means that they are

all highly significant. For leap, the result was not significant, as it displayed a p-value higher than

0.05. In PhE (see Table 22), the results were all highly significant as well. In MyE (see Table 23),

however, three out of twelve results proved to be not significant, i.e. dream, dwell and spoil,

whereas the rest of the results were highly significant. In SgE (see Table 24), dream, dwell, spoil

and leap were not significant, whereas spell was significant and the other seven verbs highly

significant. In HKE (see Table 25), the results for two verbs were not significant, i.e. leap and

spoil. The results for the other verbs were all statistically highly significant.

BrE -t -ed

AmE -t -ed

PhE -t -ed

MyE -t -ed

SgE -t -ed

HKE -t -ed

Burn .18 .82 .07 .93 .09 .91 .26 .74 .21 .79 .15 .85 Bless .02 .98 .01 .99 .01 .99 .01 .99 0 1 0 1 Dream .41 .59 .24 .76 .40 .60 .50 .50 .46 .54 .31 .69 Dwell .69 .31 .79 .21 .85 .15 .63 .37 .44 .56 .71 .29 Kneel .90 .10 .86 .14 .86 .14 .88 .11 .76 .24 .97 .03 Lean .25 .75 .03 .97 .12 .88 .06 .94 .07 .93 .20 .80 Leap .78 .22 .50 .50 .25 .75 .72 .28 .61 .39 .50 .50 Learn .30 .70 .03 .97 .04 .96 .32 .68 .38 .62 .25 .75 Smell .41 .59 .08 .92 .11 .89 .31 .69 .17 .83 .28 .72 Spell .42 .58 .06 .94 .07 .93 .32 .68 .35 .65 .32 .68 Spill .30 .70 .09 .91 .05 .95 .32 .68 .19 .81 .17 .83 Spoil .44 .56 .04 .96 .05 .95 .51 .49 .46 .54 .37 .63 Table 8: -t/-ed proportion of the 12 verbs across the varieties shadowing the verbs for which the results were not significant

In short, BrE and PhE displayed all highly significant results. In AmE, leap was the only verb

whose chi-square test was not significant, while in MyE, the results for dream, dwell and spoil

9 These tables are to be found in Appendix II. As the figures would not fit into the automatic chi-square calculator

used on the other tables, because this calculator allows maximum ten conditions and ten groups, the chi-square has

been calculated per national variety, but this meant creating six rather large tables. Hence the decision to place these

tables in a second Appendix.

34

were not significant. In SgE, the results for dream, dwell, spoil and leap were not significant.

Lastly, in HKE the results for spoil and leap were statistically not significant (see Table 8).

This means that it is not possible for these verbs (for which the results were not statistically

significant) to statistically state whether they prefer the -t or the -ed ending, since the statistical

difference between the two inflections is not significant in this study. Subsequently, some new

remarks can be added:

(i) after the first examination, it was assumed that MyE preferred the irregular -t ending

the most out of the selected varieties, displaying four verbs that prefer the -t ending.

However, only two results for the verbs that prefer the -t ending are statistically

significant;

(ii) moreover, it was assumed after the first examination that MyE and SgE displayed

rather contrastive results, despite their mutual colonial history. The statistical study,

however, showed that the results for three verbs where the two varieties had a

different outcome, are not significant. They display the same preferences for the

remaining verbs; consequently, it may be concluded that MyE and SgE do not display

such different patterns as was first assumed;

(iii) kneel is the only verb preferring the irregular -t ending whose results from the chi-

square are statistically significant in every variety;

(iv) from the first study is was assumed that eight out of twelve verbs show a clear

preference for one ending or the other throughout the varieties. Four verbs did not

show an obvious preference throughout the varieties, i.e. dream, leap, spoil and dwell.

After the statistical tests, it is clear that these verbs are also the verbs for which the

results from the chi-square test are not significant in some varieties;

After this comparative analysis, the hypotheses formulated at the end of Chapter 2 can already be

addressed. The first hypothesis assumed that regularisation would also be observed in the World

Englishes selected for this study. The comparative analysis confirms that this is indeed the case,

as all varieties displayed a majority of the verbs preferring the -ed ending. The second hypothesis

assumed that variation between the different varieties would be observed; this is also the case, as

both the general overview as the in-depth analysis displayed variation between the varieties.

35

However, the varieties were also expected to behave accordingly to their linguistic roots, and this

is not entirely the case. PhE indeed roughly follows the same patterns as AmE, but the attested

patterns from SgE and HKE seem to be somewhat divergent from the BrE patterns angling

towards the AmE pattern. The third hypothesis, then, assumed that internal variation would be

observed. This was the case as the verbs displayed a divergent preference both in the general

overview as in the in-depth analysis. Finally, the last hypothesis assumed that the verbs would

behave in a similar way across the varieties. This hypothesis cannot whole-heartedly be

confirmed, as I did observe some divergent behaviour between the verbs across the varieties. For

instance, leap displayed a different behaviour in all the varieties. However, these are generally no

more than exceptions, and on the whole it can indeed be confirmed that the verbs roughly attain

the same patterns across the different varieties.

In the following Chapter, I will attempt to explain some of these tendencies. I attempt to provide

a clarification for the differences between the varieties through Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic

Model. As for the internal variation, I will attempt to provide an explanation through the impact

of frequency on the attested patterns. Naturally these are just a few of the many variables that

have an impact on the preferred patterns discussed in this study. Rather than attempting an

exhaustive explanation, this study will merely explore two of the possible causes for variation.

36

5 ACCOUNTING FOR THE DATA

5.1 ACCOUNTING FOR VARIATION BETWEEN THE VARIETIES

5.1.1 Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic model

5.1.1.1 Introduction

Schneider’s (2007) “Dynamic Model of the Evolution of Postcolonial Englishes” provides a

theoretical framework against which the evolution of postcolonial Englishes (PCEs) may be

positioned. The Model claims that “there is a shared underlying process which drives their [i.e.

the PCEs] formation, accounts for many similarities between them, and appears to operate

whenever a language is transplanted” (Schneider, 2007: 29). The model provides a

developmental cycle applied to different varieties of English, presenting the history of the PCEs

as a diachronic succession of five phases, i.e. Foundation, Exonormative stabilization,

Nativisation, Endonormative stabilization, and Differentiation (Schneider, 2007: 5).

Furthermore, Schneider points out four parameters for each of these phases in order to further

clarify them. Each parameter causes the next parameter to emerge (Schneider, 2007: 30-31):

(i) sociopolitial background: extralinguistic factors which lead to;

(ii) identity constructions: particular identity issues on both sides of the parties involved,

i.e. the settlers and the indigenous population, which lead to;

(iii) sociolinguistic conditions: sociolinguistic adaptations which cause;

(iv) linguistic effects: profound structural changes regarding the language varieties

involved.

In section 5.1.2, I will examine whether the attested differences between the selected varieties

may be linked to different positions on this evolutionary cline. First, however, a description of the

main features of the model will be provided, followed by a discussion concerning the position of

the selected varieties on the model.

37

5.1.1.2 The Dynamic Model

Schneider (2007: 29) describes the main feature of his model as follows:

Fundamentally, the evolution of PCEs is understood as a sequence of characteristic stages

of identity rewriting and associated linguistic changes affecting the parties involved in a

colonial-contact setting.

This process implies a tug-of-war between two parties: the settlers and the indigenous population.

Both are trying to reconstruct their identity; a struggle characterised by sociolinguistic and

linguistic processes. At first, the settlers consider themselves essentially an extension from their

home country and quite different from the natives. In the course of time, however, both parties

grow accustomed to one another and the mutual dissension somewhat diminishes. It is through

this process of intervention, negotiation and, eventually, acceptance, that a new identity is

constructed along with the emergence of new language varieties. In short: it is argued that the

emergence of new PCEs is firmly associated with the construction of identity (Schneider, 2007).

In the first phase, the Foundation, the settlers bring English to the new colony where the

indigenous population had never spoken English before. At this stage, both parties are just

becoming aware of each other’s existence, and perceive the other group as quite different. The

language-contact at this point consists of two different types of ecologies: on one hand, there is

the language difference among the settlers themselves. These settlers all originate from different

regions and consequently speak a different dialect. On the other hand, there is the language

ecology that emerges from the contact between the settlers and the indigenous population. This

second type of language-contact ignites the process of language variation. At this stage, the only

language-contact between both parties is purely functional, e.g. for trading and negotiating.

Whenever interlocution between the settlers and the indigenous population was necessary, the

former assigned someone from the latter group to be trained as an interpreter, albeit not always

voluntarily (Schneider, 2007).

The second phase of the cycle is the Exonormative stabilization. The name is derived from the

fact that the norm originates from outside the territory where is it spoken (Kirkpatrick, 2007). In

this phase colonies are established. English is now regularly spoken and often installed as the

language of official instances, such as administration and education. The natives now have

regular contacts with the settlers and as a consequence, more profound cross-cultural contact

38

between the settlers and the natives emerges and entails more fundamental changes concerning

the linguistic system. Initially, this process will manifest especially on the lexical level, but later

on it will affect the syntactical and morphological structures as well (Schneider, 2007).

Schneider considers the third phase, Nativisation, to be the most important one, as it is “the

central phase of both cultural and linguistic transformation” (2007: 40). In this phase, the

indigenous population is striving towards independence, and may well achieve it by now.

Linguistically, modifications are most obvious on the level of vocabulary, involving especially

loan words from the indigenous languages, but there are also morphological and syntactic

changes. At this stage, natives start to build their own variety of English. English no longer serves

as a second language, but gradually becomes a first-language blended with the indigenous

language (Schneider, 2007).

In the fourth phase of the cycle, Endonormative stabilization, further developments in the variety

emerge locally (Kirkpatrick, 2007). The immigrants now consider themselves as inhabitants of a

newly founded nation, quite freestanding from the original home country. This newly adopted

identity implies a step-by-step acceptance of local English varieties as an instrument to express

the new identity. The new government also accepts this new form of English as a linguistic norm.

By this time, a new language variety has developed, which is observably different from the

language that was originally brought to the territory. It is remarkable that this new variety is

rather homogenous. This is partly due to the koinéization process in the early stages of the cycle,

which favours simplified language use in order to promote the mutual understanding between the

settlers and the natives. Koinéization cannot, however, completely account for this phenomenon:

the new nation wants to demonstrate unity by unifying their language as well. This is thought to

strengthen the mental sense of belonging to the same nation. Naturally, this new language variety

still displays some variation, but it is deemphasized in favour of the national unity (Schneider,

2007).

Codification is an important feature of acceptance for a new language variety. In order to achieve

official recognition, a language variety must be established in an accepted reference work, such

as a dictionary or grammar work. Grammar works usually come later, since the number of

grammatical differences is more confined than the number of newly emerged local words.

Dictionaries, however, are a more obvious illustration of codification and therefore of official

39

acceptance. Codification also initiates a mutual supporting process: the newly adopted identity

triggers an awareness of the existence of new language varieties, and this awareness in turn

results into the publishing of dictionaries which reinforces the national and linguistic identity

(Schneider, 2007).

The final phase is the Differentiation phase. The new nation, once dependent on the mother

country in one way or another, is now politically and culturally completely self-reliant, regulating

its own norms. At this point, new varieties of what used to be a new variety of English emerge,

i.e. regional and social dialects (Schneider, 2007). In conclusion, Schneider (2007: 53)

summarises the state of the new variety in this phase as follows:

The emergence of a new variety of English as a part and consequence of this process trails

off, and is almost a thing of the past, recorded and remembered in recent history but

largely completed, no longer a prominent, disputed issue.

In his study Schneider also positions different varieties of English on his model through an

evolutionary account. I will have a closer look at the PCEs discussed in this dissertation: PhE,

MyE, SgE and HKE. The overview is structured according to the phases of the model. At the end

of every account, a number of hypotheses will be formulated regarding the features of the

varieties on the model and the results obtained in Chapter 4.

5.1.1.3 Position of the selected varieties on the Dynamic Model

a The Philippines

Unlike many other varieties of English, PhE is not the result of English colonisation, but of

American colonisation. Nowadays, English plays a less important role in the Philippines, due to a

policy promoting the indigenous language as the official state language (Schneider, 2007).

The first two phases (Foundation and Exonormative Stabilization) succeeded each other quite

rapidly. The reason for this quick succession of the first and second phase is the fact that the

Americans, who were given authority over the Philippines after more than three centuries of

Spanish reign, perceived their own language preferable to that of the indigenous people. English

was now the official language, and the Americans lost no time in teaching the natives English.

40

AmE spread extremely quickly, thanks to the effective approach of the Americans and the fact

that the acquisition of this language constituted a means of climbing the social ladder (Schneider,

2007).

Schneider assumes that the third phase, Nativisation, began in 1937. The Philippines had until

then been semi-independent having received limited sovereignty, but in that year the government

made Tagalog, a lingua franca spoken in the south of Luzon10

, a national language. During the

Second World War, however, English gained more prominence, as it became the language of

resistance against the Japanese occupation. After the war, the government accepted both English

and Tagalog, now renamed Filipino, as official languages. The Philippines, sporting a bilingual

education system, had embraced English as an official language, which explains to a large extent

the persistent strong role English plays in the country. However, Philippine English has not

proceeded into the fourth phase for a number of reasons. For the most part, this stagnation can be

ascribed to political turmoil because the then government was more in favour of the local

traditions than the Western traditions. Both English and Filipino are established as official

languages, but Filipino is more widely accepted, especially in the lower classes. English is still

used in official instances, however, and continues to be held in high regard by the higher classes

(Schneider, 2007).

Hypotheses

H1 As the Philippines were colonised by the Americans, their attested patterns could be

expected to show the same tendencies as AmE.

H2 As PhE is still in phase three, their attested patterns could be expected to be lie relatively

closely to those of the original coloniser, i.e. the US.

b Malaysia

Malaysia was colonised by the British at the end of the eighteenth century. The British first took

over the city of Penang, which is situated on the east shore of what is now northern Malaysia, and

eventually all the important southern settlements, comprising Melaka and Singapore. They were

10

Luzon is the largest island of the Philippines.

41

called the Straits Settlements. The influence of the settlers remained rather limited due to the

restricted interference of the colonisers into the daily habits of the natives (Schneider, 2007).

British influence gradually diffused throughout the country: the coastal cities and the early

establishments reached the second phase much earlier than the non-Federated States. During this

period, a great number of migrations took place, especially Chinese and Indian workers. By then,

Britain had gained a stable colonial status, entailing the need for an English language education

system. Christian missions and the government joined forces to establish English schools in the

early nineteenth century. The purpose of this education was, however, purely pragmatic as it only

sought to serve the British: they wanted to train some locals to fulfil the administrative functions

(Schneider, 2007).

Malaysia achieved independence in 1957, which limited the English status. It was preserved as a

co-official language, but it was really the intention of the government to install Malay as the sole

national language, which happened officially in 1976. Since then, Malaysia has given proof of

conflicting tendencies, making it very difficult to predict the effect of their language policies.

However, despite these disagreements, Schneider (2007: 148) claims that “Malaysian English has

proceeded substantially into phase 3: nativisation”. Malaysia still maintains a certain bond with

Britain, albeit not as strong as it once was, as it is still a member of the Commonwealth. On the

sociolinguistic level, English is especially used as a means of communication between different

ethnic populations. The amount of Malaysian-born who speak English as a mother tongue

remains relatively low. Nevertheless, Schneider (2007: 150) states that “in many social contexts

an informal register of Malaysian English has clearly become an unmarked language of everyday

informal communication”. However, it is too early to say that Malaysian English has proceeded

into phase four, but there are some aspects discernible of this next phase, e.g. its future

codification is discussed and literary creativity in this variety is documented and analysed

(Schneider, 2007).

Hypotheses

H1 As Singapore was colonised by the British, their attested patterns could be expected to

show the same tendencies as BrE.

42

H2 As Singapore is still in phase three, it could be expected that their attested patterns still lie

relatively close to those of the original coloniser, i.e. Britain.

c Singapore

In the beginning of the 19th

century, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlement together

with Penang and Melaka. Because of its excellent location, Singapore soon attracted a high

number of immigrants, originating predominantly from China and India. These populations with

different ethnic backgrounds tended to remain separated from one another, an inclination that is

still present in today’s educational policy (Schneider, 2007).

The transition to the second phase can be connected to the year of 1867, when Singapore became

a crown colony. During the following years, Singapore expanded as a trading centre and

developed an Asian elite who adopted many aspects of the British culture. Singapore became a

cultural blend of European and Asian traits. In terms of linguistic development, bilingualism was

promoted, but English remained a privilege for the elite. In this period, MyE had a very strong

influence on SgE. This situation remained stable until the Second World War (Schneider, 2007).

After three years of Japanese occupation, the colonial heritage had been interrupted, causing an

uprising against the colonisers. As a result, Singapore gained independence in 1965. This

development announced the third phase. Although Singapore seemed to be heading towards a

bleak future, having no thriving economy and struggling with ethnic fragmentation, it soon

proved the sceptics wrong thanks to a substantial economic growth and its language policy. The

population considered itself primarily Singaporeans, and SgE has become their language. These

evolutions introduced the fourth phase (Schneider, 2007).

A vernacular commonly spoken by the Singaporeans is Singlish, or Colloquial Singaporean

English. Singlish developed in the late 1970s and is probably the result of the second generation

English speakers in Singapore. It is very popular with the Singaporean population, although some

do raise the question of falling standards of English. Some believe that British English should

still be norm to be strived to, while others call for a Singaporean Standard. Some would even go

as far as to argue that Singaporean English is moving into Kachru’s Inner Circle. Either way, it

43

cannot be denied that Singaporean English has well moved into the fourth phase, with the

flourishing literature, the emergence of dialects and the establishment of codification (Schneider,

2007).

Hypotheses

H1 As Singapore was colonised by the British, their attested patterns could be expected to

show the same tendencies as BrE.

H2 As Singapore is already in phase four, this variety could be expected to show less

adherence to the variety of its original coloniser (i.e. Britain) than the other three varieties,

who are still in phase three.

d Hong Kong

English was brought to Hong Kong in the seventeenth century through activities by the British

East India Company. The first phase is said to have started in 1841 – 1842, when Hong Kong

Island was occupied by Britain and became a colony after the first Opium War. Missionary

activities had started as well, which brought English education to Hong Kong. The first phase

lasted all throughout the nineteenth century. As elsewhere, the missionary activities encouraged

the spread of English, and as there was only a small amount of European residents in Hong Kong,

there was hardly any dialect mixture (Schneider, 2007).

The second phase started with the Treaty of 1898. This Treaty implemented Britain’s hold on

Hong Kong by leasing the New Territories for ninety-nine years, and it provided stability to the

whole territory for the twentieth century. Economy thrived and Hong Kong became an important

centre of trade between Britain and Southern China. Hong Kong enjoyed a politically stable

status of British crown colony in Asia, which is a typical feature of the second phase.

Bilingualism also kept spreading, but there was a distinct elitist quality about it, as only a small

fraction of the indigenous people had access to education (Schneider, 2007).

The start of the third phase can be dated towards the end of the lease, i.e. in the 1960s.

Negotiations about the future status of Hong Kong eventually led to Joint Sino-British

44

Declaration of 1984, which entailed the status of Hong Kong as a part of the People’s Republic of

China. In this way, Hong Kong did not experience the typical nativisation process, as it did not

gain independence but was assigned to another power. This also led to a general weakening of the

political ties between Hong Kong and Britain. As a result of the thriving economy and

internationalisation, English was very positively valued. Bilingualism was also no longer an

elitist privilege, but was now widely spread owing to the introduction of the Anglo-Chinese

secondary schools. Another feature displaying Hong Kong’s evolution into the third phase, is the

general worry of the lacking standards of both Chinese and English. The future of HKE is

difficult to predict, what with the uncertain sociological, economic and political developments of

both Hong Kong and China. It is remarkable, however, that despite the fact that the ties have

been broken with the former coloniser, English is still clearly treasured in Hong Kong

(Schneider, 2007).

Hypotheses

H1 As Hong Kong was colonised by the British, their attested patterns could be expected to

show the same tendencies as BrE.

H2 However, Hong Kong no longer has ties with Britain, so it could expected that their

attested patterns will show less tendencies towards BrE than MyE, despite being still in

phase three.

5.1.2 Phases and verbal behaviour compared

In this section it will be examined whether the observed patterns in Chapter 4 can be linked to the

colonial history of the varieties and the phase they are allocated in. Table 9 provides an overview

of the reached phases of each variety, their original colonisers and the proportion of their -ed

preference from the general overview of the varieties from Chapter 4.

45

Variety Coloniser Phase -ed preference

BrE / / .68

AmE / / .92

PhE US 3 (Nativisation) .90

MyE GB 3 (Nativisation) .66

SgE GB 4 (Endonormative

stabilization)

.64

HKE GB 3 (Nativisation) .73

Table 9: Schematic representation of the reached stages of the varieties with their -ed preference

On the basis of the general overview of -ed frequencies of the examined varieties, there appears

to be no correlation between how far the varieties have evolved as an independent language and

whether they prefer the -ed ending over the -t ending. It can be observed, however, that it is

indeed so that BrE, MyE and SgE do have near enough the same frequency of -ed preferences,

while PhE has about the same frequency of -ed preferences as AmE. HKE lies somewhere in

between, which is not surprising either as this variety no longer has ties with its former coloniser

and Malaysia and Singapore are still member of the Commonwealth (The Royal Household, s.d.).

Moreover, Hong Kong is now an important business centre, and as the US is still the most

important economy in the world, it is not unlikely to assume that AmE has had some influence on

HKE in this respect (Economy Watch, 2013) . It was expected, however, that SgE, being the only

variety to have reached phase four, would show less tendency towards BrE than MyE, which is

still in phase three. Actually, SgE does show less tendency towards BrE than MyE, but in the

opposite direction as it shows a smaller preference for the -ed ending than either BrE or MyE.

The differences between these three varieties, however, are very small. In order to observe

whether the varieties will be more inclined to follow the same attested patterns as their former

coloniser, I will look at the attested patterns per verb and per variety on the basis of Table 6 (see

section 4.2).

Both BrE and AmE display nine verbs preferring the -ed, just like HKE. PhE displays ten verbs

preferring the -ed ending, and so does SgE. In terms of verbs preferring the -ed ending, SgE here

shows the most preference for the regular form together with PhE. Consequently, in this case SgE

does seem to take a different stance than its former coloniser. HKE as well, but it was already

mentioned that Hong Kong no longer has ties with Britain and that AmE might be more used in

46

this business centre, so this is not surprising. MyE shows the highest number of verbs preferring

the irregular form, which is in line with the predictions made in the previous section, as this

variety is only in phase three and Britain was its coloniser.

I will now look at the strength of the preferences to see whether that tells us a different story.

BrE, AmE and HKE all displayed nine verbs preferring the -ed. However, HKE and AmE do

display each a moderate 50% -t preference for leap, while BrE shows a strong 78% -t preference

for leap. Therefore, it may be concluded that HKE seems to angle more towards AmE, although

the preferences are not as strong as in AmE. PhE shows a strong 75% preference for the -ed

ending for leap, displaying a strong adherence towards the -ed ending. SgE also shows ten verbs

preferring the -ed, like PhE. However, while SgE displays the most verbs preferring the regular

form, along with PhE, five out of ten verbs preferring the -ed only prefer the regular form with a

moderate majority, whereas PhE only displays one verb preferring the -ed with a moderate

majority. MyE displays the least verbs displaying an -ed preference, but when looking at the

strength of the preferences, it can be observed that one verb displays a weak preference for the

irregular form of 51%. Apart from that one verb, MyE angles strongly towards BrE. It can

therefore be concluded that, when looking at the strength of the preferences, the results are much

less pronounced.

In short, PhE is situated in the third phase and displays a very strong adherence towards the

regular form in general. MyE is also situated in the third phase but favours the irregular forms in

four out of twelve verbs. HKE is situated in the third phase as well, and shows an -ed preference

in nine out of twelve verbs, albeit less pronounced than in AmE and PhE. SgE is the only variety

in this selection that is situated in the fourth phase, and it does display ten verbs preferring the -ed

ending, but in five cases it is a weak to moderate majority. Consequently, it can be concluded

from this study that, while Schneider’s model is a robust classification model, it does not seem to

be able to predict the preference of irregular verbs for either the -t or the -ed ending. However, it

is noteworthy that HKE and SgE, which were both colonised by Britain, seem to show an

inclination towards the AmE patterns. For HKE, a possible explanation has been mentioned

before, but for SgE, its tendencies towards the -ed ending could indeed be linked to the fact that

this variety has already moved into the fourth phase. It could be that these observations are

testimony to the emergence of a new, official, independent language variety. However, this study

47

is not elaborate enough to confirm this and should be restricted to tentative assertions. The

question remains then, however, as to why there is variation between these varieties. As there are

many other variables exercising an influence on the varieties, each variety forms a hybrid

language system. Consequently, there is no obvious answer to this question.

5.2 ACCOUNTING FOR THE INTERNAL VARIETIES

I will try to account for the internal variation by exploring the impact of frequency on the attested

patterns. Several studies, of which I will point out two, have observed a link between the choice

to either discard or retain the irregular inflection and the frequency of the verb. I will then draw

up a table displaying the frequency of the verb and its -t frequencies in the preterite.

Bybee (2006: 715) introduces the notion conserving effect as an effect of token frequency that

relates to the morphosyntactic structure of a sequence. The conserving effect states that high-

frequency sequences are less likely to have their morphosyntactic structure modified because

they are more firmly embedded in their structure, and vice versa. As a consequence, in the

English language the low-frequency irregular verbs are much more likely to become regular than

the high-frequency irregular verbs. Bybee suggests that the high frequency reinforces the

“memory representations of words or making them easier to access whole and thus less likely to

be subject to analogical reformation”. Bybee assumes that this effect applies to grammatical

sequences as well. This means that high-frequency verbs uphold a more conservative structure

(Bybee, 2006).

Lieberman et al. (2007: 713-716), too, have observed in their research that the regularisation rate

of a verb depends on the frequency of word usage. Less than 3% of modern English verbs are

irregular today, nevertheless the ten most frequent verbs are irregular. The irregular verbs appear

to be indeed very responsive to high frequencies of occurrence. Linguists have suggested that this

phenomenon can be explained with the evolutionary hypothesis stating that infrequent irregular

verbs tend to disappear more rapidly because they are more difficult to master and easier to

forget. According to the study of Lieberman et al. (idem) “the half-life of an irregular verb scales

as the square root of its usage frequency”, which means that a verb that is a 100 times less

frequent will regularise 10 times as rapidly (Lieberman et al., 2007).

48

It may therefore be concluded that the verbs selected for this study will behave accordingly,

which means that the verbs with a relatively low frequency will be more likely to adopt the

regular -ed ending than those with a relatively high frequency. This equally means that the verbs

with a relatively high frequency occurrence will be more likely to retain their irregular -t form. If

we accept this hypothesis as true, we should notice that the verbs with a relatively low frequency

occurrence display a preference for the -ed form, and that the verbs preferring the irregular

ending with a relatively high frequency occurrence maintain their -t form. However, in this study

every verb is relatively infrequent, so the question is more specifically: do more frequent verbs

with both inflectional options prefer the -t ending more than less frequent verbs with both

inflectional options? The following table shows a ranking of the verbs according to frequency

(ranked in order of decreasing frequency) accompanied by a ranking of the verbs according to

their preference for the -t ending (ranked in order of decreasing -t frequency). The same verbs

should appear in one row.

Freq. All

varieties -t

BrE -t

AmE -t

PhE -t

MyE -t

SgE -t

HKE -t

Learn (177,956)

Kneel (.88)

Kneel (.90)

Kneel (.86)

Kneel (.86)

Kneel (.88)

Kneel (.76)

Kneel (.97)

Burn (17,029)

Dwell (.76)

Leap (.78)

Dwell (.79)

Dwell (.85)

Leap (.72)

Leap (.61)

Dwell (.71)

Bless (16,197)

Leap (.65)

Dwell (.69)

Leap (.50)

Dream (.40)

Dwell (.63)

Dream (.46)

Leap (.50)

Dream (13,253)

Dream (.34)

Spoil (.44)

Dream (.24)

Leap (.25)

Spoil (.51)

Spoil (.46)

Spoil (.37)

Smell (9,550)

Spoil (.26)

Spell (.42)

Burn (.11)

Lean (.12)

Dream (.50)

Dwell (.44)

Spell (.32)

Spell (7,073)

Smell (.23)

Dream (.41)

Spill (.09)

Smell (.11)

Learn (.32)

Learn (.38)

Dream (.31)

Lean (5,910)

Spell (.21)

Smell (.41)

Smell (.08)

Burn (.09)

Spell (.32)

Spell (.35)

Smell (.28)

Dwell (5,199)

Spill (.19)

Learn (.30)

Spell (.06)

Spell (.07)

Spill (.32)

Burn (.21)

Learn (.25)

Spoil (4,276)

Learn (.15)

Spill (.30)

Spoil (.04)

Spill (.05)

Smell (.31)

Spill (.19)

Lean (.20)

Spill (3,777)

Lean (.13)

Lean (.25)

Lean (.03)

Spoil (.05)

Burn (.26)

Smell (.17)

Spill (.17)

49

Leap (2,754)

Burn (.12)

Burn (.12)

Learn (.03)

Learn (.04)

Lean (.06)

Lean (.07)

Burn (.15)

Kneel (1,058)

Bless (.01)

Bless (.02)

Bless (.01)

Bless (.01)

Bless (.01)

Bless (0)

Bless (0)

Table 10: Order of frequency compared with the order of -t preference

The table above provides an overview of the frequencies of occurrence in the GloWbe corpus; the

frequencies of each verb have been accumulated per selected variety. This table also provides an

overview of the -t proportions discussed in Chapter 4. On the basis of Table 10, it can therefore

be verified whether the above hypothesis tallies with the observations.

This table shows that there is no correspondence between the frequency of the verbs and the

retention of the -t form. According to the hypothesis, relatively high-frequency verbs like learn,

burn and bless should display a strong preference for the -t form, but these verbs occur only at the

bottom of the ranking, which is quite contrary to the expectations. Contrariwise, the relatively

low-frequency verbs like kneel and leap show a conspicuously strong preference for the -t form.

In other words, it could be suggested that an opposite trend is emerging, but closer examination

of the variation between the varieties revealed that the hypothesis is less obviously contradicted:

spill is a relatively low-frequency verb and is in some varieties indeed regularised. In AmE en

PhE, for instance, this verb hardly ever occurs in the -t form (respectively 9% and 5%).

Moreover, in BrE, PhE, MyE and SgE the relatively high-frequency verb dream shows a

relatively high preference for the -t form, the proportions going from 41% up to 50%, which

could also confirm the hypothesis, but none of these findings are very convincing. This

examination does not seem to show an obvious correspondence between the frequency of the

examined verbs and their preferences for either one ending or the other. It may therefore be

concluded from Table 10 that the hypothesis is not confirmed, nor that an opposite trend has been

observed.

50

6 CONCLUSION

The overall aim of the present study was to examine to what extent verbs ending in the irregular

-t ending in the past tense, but allowing for the regular -ed ending as well, prefer the regular over

the irregular ending in the preterite form in different varieties of English. In order to examine

this, different research questions have been formulated:

Q 1 To what extent do irregular verbs with strong -t forms resort to the regularised -ed

form?

Q 2 How does this phenomenon manifest itself in British English and American English?

Q 3 How does it manifest itself in Philippine English, Malaysian English, Singapore English

and Hong Kong English?

Q 4 How do these varieties differ from one another?

Q 5 Is there internal variation?

Q 6 How can this variation be accounted for?

First, a theoretical framework was established stemming from the fields of language variation and

change. From Kachru’s concentric three circle model (Crystal, 2003) four varieties of English

were selected, i.e. Philippine English, Malaysian English, Singapore English and Hong Kong

English. Subsequently, the regularisation of irregular verbs in general was examined, followed by

a probe into the situation in British English and American English. It was observed from this

literature that American English seems to favour regularisation of irregular verbs more than

British English (Biber, 1999; Tottie, 2002; Levin, 2009). However, from comparative analysis it

was clear that these two varieties do not display that much difference as assumed from the

literature.

On the basis of the theoretical framework, four hypotheses were formulated:

H 1 Regularisation of irregular verbs ending in -t in the preterite and the participle form

has been observed in both BrE and AmE. Therefore, regularisation will also be observed

in the past tense for this type of verbs in PhE, MyE, SgE and HKE, as these varieties

originate from BrE and AmE.

51

H 2 Variation between the varieties will be observed. It is expected that the results from MyE,

SgE and HKE will be relatively comparable to the results from BrE, as these varieties

have British roots according to Strevens’s Map. In addition, it is also expected that

the results from PhE will be relatively comparable to those of AmE, as PhE has

American roots according to Strevens’s map.

H 3 Internal variation will be observed in the selected varieties, as it has been observed in

IE in De Clerck and Van Opstal (2014) and in Levin (2009).

H 4 The selected verbs will behave in a similar way across the different varieties, as it has

also been observed in De Clerck and Van Opstal (2014) and in Levin (2009).

Through a comparative analysis these hypotheses have been investigated. After the comparative

analysis, the formulated hypotheses could be addressed: the first hypothesis could be confirmed,

as regularisation was indeed found in each of the varieties, and in nine out of twelve verbs. The

second hypothesis could not be entirely confirmed; Philippine English did follow the same rough

patterns as American English, and Malaysian English followed more or less the British patterns.

However, Hong Kong English and Singapore English showed some inclination towards the

American patterns, which was opposite to the expectations. The third hypothesis could also be

confirmed, as well as the last. Generally, it can be said that the verbs follow the same patterns

across the varieties. Therefore, regularisation or contrarily the retention of the irregular form can

be said to be more verb related and less variety related.

The systematic review and the comparative analysis answered five out of six research questions.

An attempt was made to formulate an answer to the final question in the last chapter. I attempted

to account for the variation between the varieties through Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model.

This model positions the Postcolonial Englishes on an evolutionary cline, closely linked to

identity. Philippine English, Malaysian English and Hong Kong English have moved into the

third phase, Nativisation, which means that their own variety of English is emerging. Singapore

English has already moved into the fourth phase, Endonormative Stabilisation, characterised by

the attempts to unify their newly acquired language variety and the emergence of codification. It

was examined whether the position of the varieties on the model could account for the -t/-ed

distribution. However, no clear link was found between these two aspects. Subsequently, it was

52

attempted to account for the internal variation through the impact of frequency on the attested

patterns. It was assumed that the relatively frequent verbs would retain the -t form more than the

relatively less frequent verbs. However, this appeared to be not the case; consequently, frequency

could not account for the internal variety in this study.

As a final remark it should be noted that each language variety establishes a very hybrid system,

influenceable by many variables. It is therefore difficult to make any assumptions based on such

limited research. Furthermore, researchers who would aim to tap into this particular branch of

language variation and change could, for instance, investigate the past participle form of these

varieties and verbs, as only the preterite was investigated in this study. De Clerck and Van Opstal

(2014) have already observed that there is a variation between these two forms regarding the

preference for either the -t or -ed ending. As for the variation between the varieties, it could be

useful to examine the prescriptivism per variety to see whether that aspect could influence the

variation between varieties.

53

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55

APPENDIX I

ABSOLUTE FIGURES FROM GLOWBE

BrE AmE PhE MyE SgE HKE

Total freq. -t

7467 2393 426 919 1095 871

Total freq. -ed

14734 29550 3878 1789 1981 2328

Table 11: General overview -t/-ed variation across the varieties

Total -t Total -ed Prop. -t Prop. -ed

Burn 592 4292 .12 .88 Bless 13 1535 .01 .99

Dream 1287 2495 .34 .66 Dwell 381 122 .76 .24 Kneel 896 124 .88 .12 Lean 457 2985 .13 .87 Leap 1427 785 .65 .35

Learn 6557 36613 .15 .85 Smell 556 1899 .23 .77 Spell 409 1541 .21 .79 Spill 238 1017 .19 .81 Spoil 380 1055 .26 .74 Table 12: General overview -t/-ed variation across 12 verbs

BrE AmE PhE MyE SgE HKE

Burnt 310 171 21 38 28 24 Burned 1376 2367 202 108 106 133 Blest 8 6 1 1 0 0 Blessed 345 818 195 85 59 33 Dreamt 620 385 99 79 67 37 Dreamed 897 1209 151 77 78 83 Dwelt 85 230 35 12 4 15 Dwelled 38 60 6 7 5 6 Knelt 339 352 82 16 41 65 Kneeled 38 56 13 2 13 2 Leant 347 51 23 4 10 22 Leaned 1025 1498 167 65 140 90 Leapt 858 369 29 56 44 44 Leaped 241 365 85 22 28 44 Learnt 3842 612 109 594 800 600 Learned 9170 20249 2830 1242 1330 1792 Smelt 365 90 13 34 27 27 Smelled 534 982 108 74 131 70

56

Spelt 275 55 8 33 19 19 Spelled 380 904 111 71 35 40 Spilt 151 47 3 17 13 7 Spilled 350 486 54 36 56 35 Spoilt 264 25 3 35 42 11 Spoiled 340 556 56 34 49 19 Table 13: Overview -t/-ed variation across the varieties and verbs

Total -t Total -ed Prop -t Prop -ed

Burn 310 1376 .18 .82 Bless 8 345 .02 .98 Dream 620 897 .41 .59 Dwell 85 38 .69 .31

Kneel 339 38 .90 .10 Lean 347 1025 .25 .75 Leap 858 241 .78 .22 Learn 3842 9170 .30 .70 Smell 365 534 .41 .59

Spell 275 380 .42 .58 Spill 151 350 .30 .70

Spoil 264 340 .44 .56 Table 14: -t/-ed variation in BrE across 12 verbs

Total t Total ed Prop t Prop ed

Burn 171 2367 .07 .93 Bless 6 818 .01 .99 Dream 385 1209 .24 .76 Dwell 230 60 .79 .21 Kneel 352 56 .86 .14 Lean 51 1498 .03 .97 Leap 369 365 .50 .50 Learn 612 20249 .03 .97 Smell 90 982 .08 .92 Spell 55 904 .06 .94 Spill 47 486 .09 .91 Spoil 25 556 .04 .96 Table 15: -t/-ed variation in AmE across 12 verbs

Total t Total ed Prop t Prop ed

Burn 21 202 .09 .91 Bless 1 195 .01 .99 Dream 99 151 .40 .60 Dwell 35 6 .85 .15 Kneel 82 13 .86 .14 Lean 23 167 .12 .88

57

Leap 29 85 .25 .75 Learn 109 2830 .04 .96 Smell 13 108 .11 .89 Spell 8 111 .07 .93 Spill 3 54 .05 .95 Spoil 3 56 .05 .95 Table 16: -t/-ed variation in PhE across 12 verbs

Total -t Total -ed Prop -t Prop -ed

Burn 38 108 .26 .74 Bless 1 85 .01 .99 Dream 79 77 .50 .50 Dwell 12 7 .63 .37 Kneel 16 2 .88 .11 Lean 4 65 .06 .94 Leap 56 22 .72 .28 Learn 594 1242 .32 .68 Smell 34 74 .31 .69 Spell 33 71 .32 .68 Spill 17 36 .32 .68 Spoil 35 34 .51 .49 Table 17: -t/-ed variation in MyE across 12 verbs

Total -t Total -ed Prop -t Prop -ed

Burn 28 106 .21 .79

Bless 0 59 .00 1.00

Dream 67 78 .46 .54

Dwell 4 5 .44 .56

Kneel 41 13 .76 .24

Lean 10 140 .07 .93

Leap 44 28 .61 .39

Learn 800 1330 .38 .62

Smell 27 131 .17 .83

Spell 19 35 .35 .65

Spill 13 56 .19 .81

Spoil 42 49 .46 .54 Table 18: -t/-ed variation in SgE across 12 verbs

Total -t Total -ed Prop -t Prop -ed

Burn 24 133 .15 .85 Bless 0 33 .00 1.00 Dream 37 83 .31 .69 Dwell 15 6 .71 .29 Kneel 65 2 .97 .03 Lean 22 90 .20 .80

58

Leap 44 44 .50 .50 Learn 600 1792 .25 .75 Smell 27 70 .28 .72 Spell 19 40 .32 .68 Spill 7 35 .17 .83 Spoil 11 19 .37 .63 Table 19: -t/-ed variation in HKE across 12 verbs

59

APPENDIX II

CHI-SQUARE TEST PER VARIETY PER VERB

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 310 1376 0.000*** (χ²= 673.995) Expected 843 843

Bless Observed 8 345 0.000*** (χ²= 321.725) Expected 176.5 176.5

Dream Observed 620 897 0.000*** (χ²= 50.579) Expected 758.5 758.5

Dwell Observed 85 38 0.000*** (χ²= 17.959) Expected 61.5 61.5

Kneel Observed 339 38 0.000*** (χ²= 240.321) Expected 188.5 188.5

Lean Observed 347 1025 0.000*** (χ²= 335.047) Expected 686 686

Leap Observed 858 241 0.000*** (χ²= 346.396) Expected 549.5 549.5

Learn Observed 3842 9170 0.000*** (χ²= 2181.646) Expected 2227 2227

Smell Observed 365 534 0.000*** (χ²= 31.77) Expected 449.5 449.5

Spell Observed 275 380 0.000*** (χ²= 16.832) Expected 327.5 327.5

Spill Observed 151 350 0.000*** (χ²= 79.044) Expected 250.5 250.5

Spoil Observed 264 340 0.002*** (χ²= 9.563) Expected 302 302

Table 20: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in BrE

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 171 2367 0.000*** (χ²= 1900.085) Expected 1269 1269

Bless Observed 6 818 0.000*** (χ²= 800.175) Expected 412 412

Dream Observed 385 1209 0.000*** (χ²= 425.924) Expected 797 797

Dwell Observed 230 60 0.000*** (χ²= 99.655) Expected 145 145

Kneel Observed 352 56 0.000*** (χ²= 214.745) Expected 204 204

Lean Observed 51 1498 0.000*** (χ²= 1351.717) Expected 774.5 774.5

Leap Observed 369 365 0.8820871 (χ²= 0.022) Expected 367 367

Learn Observed 612 20249 0.000*** (χ²= 18484.817) Expected 10430.5 10430.5

60

Smell Observed 90 982 0.000*** (χ²= 742.224) Expected 536 536

Spell Observed 55 904 0.000*** (χ²= 751.617) Expected 479.5 479.5

Spill Observed 47 486 0.000*** (χ²= 361.578) Expected 266.5 266.5

Spoil Observed 25 556 0.000*** (χ²= 485.303 Expected 290.5 290.5

Table 21: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in AmE

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 21 202 0.000*** (χ²= 146.91) Expected 111.5 111.5

Bless Observed 1 195 0.000*** (χ²= 192.02) Expected 98 98

Dream Observed 99 151 0.001*** (χ²= 10.816) Expected 125 125

Dwell Observed 35 6 0.000*** (χ²= 20.512) Expected 20.5 20.5

Kneel Observed 82 13 0.000*** (χ²= 50.116) Expected 47.5 47.5

Lean Observed 23 167 0.000*** (χ²= 109.137) Expected 95 95

Leap Observed 29 85 0.000*** (χ²= 27.509 Expected 57 57

Learn Observed 109 2830 0.000*** (χ²= 2519.17) Expected 1469.5 1469.5

Smell Observed 13 108 0.000*** (χ²= 74.587) Expected 60.5 60.5

Spell Observed 8 111 0.000*** (χ²= 89.151) Expected 59.5 59.5

Spill Observed 3 54 0.000*** (χ²= 45.632) Expected 28.5 28.5

Spoil Observed 3 56 0.000*** (χ²= 47.61) Expected 29.5 29.5

Table 22: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in PhE

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 38 108 0.000*** (χ²= 33.562) Expected 73 73

Bless Observed 1 85 0.000*** (χ²= 82.047) Expected 43 43

Dream Observed 79 77 0.87190032 (χ²= 0.026) Expected 78 78

Dwell Observed 12 7 0.25131119 (χ²= 1.316) Expected 9.5 9.5

Kneel Observed 16 2 0.001*** (χ²= 10.889) Expected 9 9

61

Lean Observed 4 65 0.000*** (χ²= 53.928) Expected 34.5 34.5

Leap Observed 56 22 0.000*** (χ²= 14.821) Expected 39 39

Learn Observed 594 1242 0.000*** (χ²= 228.706) Expected 918 918

Smell Observed 34 74 0.000*** (χ²= 14.815) Expected 54 54

Spell Observed 33 71 0.000*** (χ²= 13.885) Expected 52 52

Spill Observed 17 36 0.009*** (χ²= 6.811) Expected 26.5 26.5

Spoil Observed 35 34 0.90581285 (χ²= 0.014) Expected 34.5 34.5

Table 23: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in MyE

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 28 106 0.000*** (χ²= 45.403) Expected 67 67

Bless Observed 0 59 0.000*** (χ²= 59) Expected 29.5 29.5

Dream Observed 67 78 0.36111843 (χ²= 0.834) Expected 72.5 72.5

Dwell Observed 4 5 0.73900851 (χ²= 0.111) Expected 4.5 4.5

Kneel Observed 41 13 0.000*** (χ²= 14.519) Expected 27 27

Lean Observed 10 140 0.000*** (χ²= 112.667) Expected 75 75

Leap Observed 44 28 0.059 (χ²= 3.556) Expected 36 36

Learn Observed 800 1330 0.000*** (χ²= 131.878) Expected 1065 1065

Smell Observed 27 131 0.000*** (χ²= 68.456) Expected 79 79

Spell Observed 19 35 0.029* (χ²= 4.741) Expected 27 27

Spill Observed 13 56 0.000*** (χ²= 26.797) Expected 34.5 34.5

Spoil Observed 42 49 0.46326278 (χ²= 0.538) Expected 45.5 45.5

Table 24: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in SgE

-t -ed Statistical significance

Burn Observed 24 133 0.000*** (χ²= 75.675) Expected 78.5 78.5

Bless Observed 0 33 0.000*** (χ²= 33) Expected 16.5 16.5

62

Dream Observed 37 83 0.000*** (χ²= 17.633) Expected 60 60

Dwell Observed 15 6 0.049* (χ²= 3.857) Expected 10.5 10.5

Kneel Observed 65 2 0.000*** (χ²= 52.239) Expected 33.5 33.5

Lean Observed 22 90 0.000*** (χ²= 41.286) Expected 56 56

Leap Observed 44 44 1 (χ²= 0) Expected 44 44

Learn Observed 600 1792 0.000*** (χ²= 594.007) Expected 1196 1196

Smell Observed 27 70 0.000*** (χ²= 19.062) Expected 48.5 48.5

Spell Observed 19 40 0.006*** (χ²= 7.475) Expected 29.5 29.5

Spill Observed 7 35 0.000*** (χ²= 18.667) Expected 21 21

Spoil Observed 11 19 0.144 (χ²= 2.133) Expected 15 15

Table 25: Chi-square test on 12 verbs in HKE