skip to main content
Language:
Search Limited to: Search Limited to: Resource type Show Results with: Show Results with: Search type Index

The semantics, sociolinguistics, and origins of double modals in American English: New insights from social media

PloS one, 2024-01, Vol.19 (1), p.e0295799-e0295799 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

Copyright: © 2024 Morin, Grieve. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. ;COPYRIGHT 2024 Public Library of Science ;2024 Morin, Grieve 2024 Morin, Grieve ;ISSN: 1932-6203 ;EISSN: 1932-6203 ;DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295799 ;PMID: 38265988

Full text available

Citations Cited by
  • Title:
    The semantics, sociolinguistics, and origins of double modals in American English: New insights from social media
  • Author: Morin, Cameron ; Grieve, Jack
  • Rana, Toqir
  • Subjects: Analysis ; Appalachian Region ; Biology and Life Sciences ; Book publishing ; Computer and Information Sciences ; Educational aspects ; Humans ; International economic relations ; Language ; Language and culture ; Linguistics ; People and places ; Semantics ; Social Media ; Social Sciences ; Sociolinguistics
  • Is Part Of: PloS one, 2024-01, Vol.19 (1), p.e0295799-e0295799
  • Description: In this paper, we analyze double modal use in American English based on a multi-billion-word corpus of geolocated posts from the social media platform Twitter. We identify and map 76 distinct double modals totaling 5,349 examples, many more types and tokens of double modals than have ever been observed. These descriptive results show that double modal structure and use in American English is far more complex than has generally been assumed. We then consider the relevance of these results to three current theoretical debates. First, we demonstrate that although there are various semantic tendencies in the types of modals that most often combine, there are no absolute constraints on double modal formation in American English. Most surprisingly, our results suggest that double modals are used productively across the US. Second, we argue that there is considerable dialect variation in double modal use in the southern US, with double modals generally being most strongly associated with African American Language, especially in the Deep South. This result challenges previous sociolinguistic research, which has often highlighted double modal use in White Southern English, especially in Appalachia. Third, we consider how these results can help us better understand the origins of double modals in America English: although it has generally been assumed that double modals were introduced by Scots-Irish settlers, we believe our results are more consistent with the hypothesis that double modals are an innovation of African American Language.
  • Publisher: United States: Public Library of Science
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 1932-6203
    EISSN: 1932-6203
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295799
    PMID: 38265988
  • Source: GFMER Free Medical Journals
    MEDLINE
    PubMed Central
    Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    ProQuest Central
    DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
Back to results list
INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY (84-028) 37 755 057 Feedback
19 Nguyen Huu Tho St. Dist.7, HCM thuvien@tdtu.edu.vn

Copyright © 2017 INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Searching Remote Databases, Please Wait