Tense/aspect variation and the Present Perfect in Australian English narratives: sociolinguistic constraints and discourse-pragmatic functions

Sophie Lucie Raymonde Richard

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis

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Abstract

This thesis offers the first comprehensive sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic investigation of tense/aspect variation in Australian English narratives, focusing on the Narrative Present Perfect (NPP). Multivariate analyses on a corpus of 331 performed narratives show that the NPP is restricted to the speech of non-professional speakers, favoured by males, and not a change in progress. The incursion of the PP into narrative contexts does not constitute a case of grammaticalisation of the PP into a past/perfective: the phenomenon is pragmatic rather than semantic, with the NPP serving as a stylistic/discourse­ pragmatic device.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Awarding Institution
  • The University of Western Australia
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Rodriguez Louro, Celeste, Supervisor
  • Ritz, Marie-Eve, Supervisor
Thesis sponsors
Award date10 Sept 2018
DOIs
Publication statusUnpublished - 2018

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