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Habitual Be
Habitual ''be'', also called invariant ''be'', is the use of an uninflected ''be'' in African-American English (AAE), Caribbean English and Hiberno-English to mark habitual or extended actions in place of the Standard English inflected forms of ''be'', such as ''is'' and ''are''. This is referred to as the habitual aspect of the verb "to be". In AAE, use of ''be'' indicates that a subject repeatedly does an action or embodies a trait. In General American English, however, the use of (an inflection of) ''be'' means only that an individual has done an action in a particular tense, such as in the statement "She was singing" (the habitual is "She sings"). It is a common misconception that AAE simply replaces ''is'' with ''be'' across all tenses, with no added meaning. In fact, AAE uses ''be'' to mark a habitual grammatical aspect, which is not explicitly distinguished in Standard English. For example, ''to be singing'' means ''to sing habitually,'' not ''to presently be singing.'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inflection
In linguistic Morphology (linguistics), morphology, inflection (less commonly, inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical category, grammatical categories such as grammatical tense, tense, grammatical case, case, grammatical voice, voice, grammatical aspect, aspect, grammatical person, person, grammatical number, number, grammatical gender, gender, grammatical mood, mood, animacy, and definiteness. The inflection of verbs is called ''grammatical conjugation, conjugation'', while the inflection of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. can be called ''declension''. An inflection expresses grammatical categories with affixation (such as prefix, suffix, infix, circumfix, and transfix), apophony (as Indo-European ablaut), or other modifications. For example, the Latin verb ', meaning "I will lead", includes the suffix ', expressing person (first), number (singular), and tense-mood (future indicative or present subjunctive). Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Country English
West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of the West Country, an area found in the southwest of England. The West Country is often defined as encompassing the official region of South West England: Cornwall, and the counties of, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Bristol and Gloucestershire. However, the exact northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define. In the adjacent counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, it is possible to encounter similar accents and indeed, much the same distinct dialect, albeit with some similarities to others in neighbouring regions. Although natives of all these locations, especially in rural parts, often still have West Country influences in their speech, their increased mobility and urbanisation has meant that in the more populous of these counties the dialect itself, as opposed to the people's various local ''acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonstandard English Grammar
Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization can help maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, efficiency, and quality. It can also facilitate a normalization of formerly custom processes. In social sciences, including economics, the idea of ''standardization'' is close to the solution for a coordination problem, a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions. Divergent national standards impose costs on consumers and can be a form of non-tariff trade barrier. History Early examples Standard weights and measures were developed by the Indus Valley civilization.Iwata, Shigeo (2008), "Weights and Measures in the Indus Valley", ''Encyclopaedia of the History of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Present Progressive
The present continuous, also called the present progressive or present imperfect, is a verb form used in modern English that combines the present tense with the continuous aspect. It is formed by the present tense form of be and the present participle of a verb. The present continuous is generally used to describe something that is taking place at the present moment and can be employed in both the indicative and subjunctive moods. It accounts for approximately 5% of verbs in spoken English. Formation The present continuous is formed by the present tense form of be and the present participle (-ing form) of the verb. For example, you would write the verb ''work'' in the present continuous form by adding the -ing suffix to the verb and placing a present tense form of be (am, are, is) in front of it: * I am working. * You are working. * She is working. * We are working. * They are working. Uses The present continuous is used in several instances. Its most common use is to des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Markers Of Habitual Aspect
The habitual aspect is a form of expression connoting repetition or continuous existence of a state of affairs. In standard English, for present reference there is no special grammatical marker of habitual aspect; the simple present is used, as in ''I go there (every Thursday).'' However, for past reference English uses the simple past form or either of two marked constructions: ''used to'' as in ''we used to go there (every Thursday)'', and ''would'' as in ''back then we would go there (every Thursday)''. African-American Vernacular English uses ''be'' ( habitual ''be'') to indicate that performance of the verb is of a habitual nature. ''Would'' The form infinitive.html" ;"title="ould + infinitive">ould + infinitiveis employed to talk about a habit or frequent action in a former time. One usually applies [would + infinitive] for the past habitual when one is telling a story about the past. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of over a hundred tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States, between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The largest is Johns Island, South Carolina. Sapelo Island is home to the Gullah people. All of the islands are acutely threatened by sea level rise due to climate change. History Settled by indigenous cultures thousands of years ago, the islands were selected by Spanish colonists as sites for founding of colonial missions. Historically the Spanish influenced the Guale and Mocama chiefdoms by establishing Christian missions in their major settlements, from St. Catherine's Island south to Fort George Island (at present-day Jacksonville, Florida). Both chiefdoms extended to the coastal areas on the mainland. The Mocama Province included territory to the St. Johns River in present-day Florida. The mission system ended under pressur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creole Language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fledged language with Nativization, native speakers, all within a fairly brief period. While the concept is similar to that of a mixed language, mixed or hybrid language, creoles are often characterized by a tendency to systematize their inherited grammar (e.g., by eliminating irregularities). Like any language, creoles are characterized by a consistent system of grammar, possess large stable vocabularies, and are Language acquisition, acquired by children as their native language. These three features distinguish a creole language from a pidgin. Creolistics, or creology, is the study of creole languages and, as such, is a subfield of linguistics. Someone who engages in this study is called a creolist. The precise number of creole languages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Scots Dialects
Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts of Ulster, being almost exclusively spoken in parts of Northern Ireland and County Donegal.Gregg, R. J. (1972) "The Scotch-Irish Dialect Boundaries in Ulster" in Wakelin, M. F., ''Patterns in the Folk Speech of the British Isles'', London: Athlone PressMacafee, C. (2001) "Lowland Sources of Ulster Scots" in J. M. Kirk & D. P. Ó Baoill, ''Languages Links: the Languages of Scotland and Ireland'', Belfast: Cló Ollscoil na Banríona, p. 121 It is normally considered a dialect or group of dialects of Scots, although groups such as the Ulster-Scots Language Society and Ulster-Scots Academy consider it a language in its own right, and the Ulster-Scots Agency and former Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Northern Ireland), Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure have used the term Ulster-Scots language. Some d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scotch-Irish Americans
Scotch-Irish Americans are American descendants of primarily Ulster Scots people, who emigrated from Ulster (Ireland's northernmost province) to the United States between the 18th and 19th centuries, with their ancestors having originally migrated to Ulster, mainly from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England in the 17th century. In the 2017 American Community Survey, 5.39 million (1.7% of the population) reported Scottish ancestry, an additional 3 million (0.9% of the population) identified more specifically with Scotch-Irish ancestry, and many people who claim "American ancestry" may actually be of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The term ''Scotch-Irish'' is used primarily in the United States,Leyburn 1962, p. 327. with people in Great Britain or Ireland who are of a similar ancestry identifying as Ulster Scots people. Many left for North America, but over 100,000 Scottish Presbyterians still lived in Ulster in 1800. With the enforcement of Queen Anne's 1704 Popery Act, which c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mummerset
Mummerset is a fictional English dialect supposedly spoken in a rustic English county of the same name. Mummerset is used by actors to represent a stereotypical English West Country accent while not specifically referencing any particular county. The name is a portmanteau of mummer (an archaic term for a folk actor) and Somerset, a largely rural county. Mummerset draws on a mixture of characteristics of real dialects from the West Country, such as rhoticism, forward-shifted diphthongs, lengthened vowels, and the voicing of word-initial consonants that are voiceless in other English dialects. Word-initial "S" is replaced with "Z"; "F" is replaced with "V". It also uses perceived dialect grammar, replacing instances of "am", "are" and "is" with "be". The sentence "I haven't seen him, that farmer, since Friday" could be parsed in Mummerset as "Oi ain't zeen 'im that be varmer zince Vroiday". Some speakers of East Anglian English have objected to media portrayals of chara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's The Muppets, Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national Public broadcasting, public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to Pay television, premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service Max (streaming service), HBO Max in 2020, and most recently Netflix in 2025. The show's format consists of a combination of Commercial broadcasting, commercial television production element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African-American English
African-American English (AAE) is the umbrella term for English dialects spoken predominantly by Black people in the United States and, less often, in Canada; most commonly, it refers to a dialect continuum ranging from African-American Vernacular English to more standard American English. Like all widely spoken language varieties, African-American English shows variation stylistically, generationally, geographically (that is, features specific to singular cities or regions only), in rural versus urban characteristics, in vernacular versus standard registers, etc. There has been a significant body of African-American literature and oral tradition for centuries. Name The broad topic of the English language, in its diverse forms, as used by Black people in North America has various names, including Black American English or simply Black English. Also common is the somewhat controversial term Ebonics and, more recently in academic linguistics, African American Language (AAL). H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
