Topicalization in Asian Englishes: Forms, Functions, and Frequencies of a Fronting Construction

Publikation: Buch/Konferenzbericht/Sammelband/GutachtenMonographieBeigetragenBegutachtung

Abstract

This monograph is the first comprehensive study of topicalization in Asian second-language varieties of English and provides an in-depth analysis of the forms, functions, and frequencies of topicalization in four Asian Englishes. Topicalization, that is, the sentence-initial placement of constituents other than the subject, has been found to occur frequently in the English spoken by many Asians, but so far the possible reasons for this have never been scrutinized. This book closes this research gap by taking into account the structures of the major contact languages, the roles of second-language acquisition and politeness as well as other factors in order to explain why topicalization is highly frequent in some varieties such as Indian English and much less frequent in other varieties such as Hong Kong English. In addition to exploring major and minor forces involved in explaining the frequency of topicalization, the forms and functions of the feature are assessed. Central questions addressed in this regard are the following: Which syntactic constituents tend to be topicalized the most and the least frequently? Which discourse effects does topicalization achieve? How can we approach topicalization methodologically? And, lastly, which influence do language processing and production have on topicalization?

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ErscheinungsortLondon
VerlagRoutledge, London
Seitenumfang238
ISBN (elektronisch)9781351000437
ISBN (Print)9780367662332, 9781138549456
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 2019
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Publikationsreihe

ReiheRoutledge Studies in World Englishes, 2019