Carolin Biewer

South Pacific Englishes : a sociolinguistic and morphosyntactic profile of Fiji English, Samoan English and Cook Islands English

Second-language varieties of English in the South Pacific have received scant attention, until now. This monograph offers the first book-length analysis of the sociolinguistics and morphosyntax of three representatives of South Pacific L2 English in comparison – two of which have never been described linguistically. The book describes the spread of English, its current status and use in the three island states and compares the most frequent and salient morphosyntactic features to corresponding structures in Asian and African Englishes and the Oceanic substrate languages. As part of a larger theoretical discussion on the multiple factors that determine the evolution and dynamics of L2 varieties in general, Mufwene’s feature pool model is extended to a new model that integrates cognitive aspects of language acquisition and use, typological aspects of the languages/varieties involved and socio-cultural motivations of language use. The book also examines the role of New Zealand English as a potential epicentre in the South Pacific and considers ethical and methodological issues of linguistic field research.

The dynamics of inner and outer circle varieties in the South Pacific and East Asia

Southern Hemisphere varieties such as Australian English (AusE) and New Zealand English (NZE) have fairly recently been codified as separate national standard varieties of English. This development may be of some importance for the dynamics of English varieties in the South Pacific and East-Asian region. With increased political, economic and personal contact between Australians and New Zealanders on the one hand and second-language speakers of English in countries such as the Philippines, Singapore or Fiji on the other hand, the latter may start modelling their speech on AusE and NZE rather than on the formerly more prestigious varieties of American and British English. To test this hypothesis, the world wide web was used as a source to compile the SPEA-Corpus ...a collection of articles from on-line newspapers which were chosen to represent the different inner and outer circle varieties in question. The paper describes the compilation of SPEAC and presents the results of a case study ...variation between the present perfect and the past tense. It discusses the results as a first step to modelling the dynamics of inner and outer circle varieties in the South Pacific and East Asia and the suitability of on-line newspapers on the world wide web as a source for corpus compilation.

Passive constructions in Fiji English: a corpus-based study

Inner circle varieties of English seem to show variation in the usage of the getpassive, i.e. in constructions such as He got hurt. It is claimed that the get-passive is more frequently used in American English than in British English, while Australian English and New Zealand English hold an intermediate position (Sussex 1982: 90; Hundt 1998: 78; Hundt et al. 2008: 327f). As an alternative strategy the be-passive can be used (He was hurt). It is equally interesting to check usage, form and frequency of be-passives to see whether some regional variation can be found. Fiji English is a variety of English as a second language spoken in Fiji both by Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Previous studies on concord patterns, perfect constructions and the mandative subjunctive (Biewer 2008a, 2008b, forthcoming) suggest that Fiji English has been developing under the influence of second language acquisition, Fijian, angloversals and the exonormative influence of inner circle varieties of English, in particular New Zealand English. This paper will focus on get-passives and be-passives in Fiji English to gain some insight into the differences and similarities in the usage of the passive in Fiji English, British English and New Zealand English. Data will be taken from a preliminary version of ICE-Fiji. A review of the progress of the compilation of ICE-Fiji will be given and its (current) suitability for such a study will be considered. The results will be discussed as a further step towards a corpus-based description of the grammar of Fiji English.

The Semantics of Passion in Shakespeare's Comedies: An Interdisciplinary Study

‘‘How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague?’’ is Olivia’s comment in Twelfth Night after her first meeting with the servant Cesario, who is none other than the shipwrecked Viola in disguise. Olivia continues with: ‘‘Methinks I feel the youth’s perfections / With an invisible and subtle stealth / To creep in at mine eyes [. . .]’’ (I.v.249ff). This is more than just a metaphorical description of falling in love. The Elizabethans believed that love entered the body through the eyes in the form of invisible vapours and infected the body with love-sickness. Treatises of Elizabethan psychology such as Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy for instance recall this belief. In this respect Olivia’s phrasing is not metaphorical but semantical. And it is only with some knowledge of the psychological ideas of the time that we can judge the way language is used here to describe the passion of love and, eventually, wholly understand the subtle differences Shakespeare’s lovers show in their display of passion. The goal of this article is therefore to give an overview of how Shakespeare chooses his words in accordance with the terminology and concepts of the psychology of passion of his time when his aim is to accurately portray a lover’s true, as well as feigned, feelings. I will refer to Shakespeare’s mature comedies As You Like It (AYL), Much Ado About Nothing (Ado) and Twelfth Night (TN), all written around 1599, which display a uniquely rich texture in language and plot. I will first introduce some

Dietetics as a Key to Language and Character in Shakespeare's Comedy

‘‘Does not our lives consist of the four elements?’’ Sir Andrew is asked by his companion Sir Toby in Twelfth Night (TN). ‘‘Faith, so they say,’’ is Sir Andrew’s answer, ‘‘but I think it rather consists of eating and drinking’’ (TN, II, iii, 7ff). Sir Andrew knows about the Elizabethan doctrine that everything consists of the four elements fire, water, air and earth. He has understood that eating and drinking are everyday needs of every living thing. But he does not see a connection between the elements, whose individual mixture in a human body was believed to be responsible for an individual’s actions and character traits, and the taking of food and drink as cause or result of this mixture of the elements. The Elizabethans, however, believed that the composition of the elements did not only influence your appetite but that food and drink would influence the composition of the elements, and therefore the humours in your body and therefore your passions. In the Elizabethan period dietetics as the doctrine of appropriate eating and drinking according to the mixture of the elements and humours in your body was very popular. Authors like Sir Thomas Elyot devoted whole books to discussing the effects of all kinds of food and drink if one of the four bodily humours—choler, phlegm, blood or melancholy—dominated in the body. Advice was given on whether pepper was suitable to be added to a dish for a phlegmatic person or whether a choleric person should avoid partridge wings. The discussion of food and drink in Shakespeare’s comedies, or the mentioning of certain dishes, is often intended to indicate these ideas of dietetics. With the knowledge of the dietetic concepts of the time it becomes possible to understand the way the disposition of a character is