/h/ insertion as a 'camouflaged archaism'?: dialect contact, colonial lag and the feature pool in South Atlantic English.

Abstract

This article documents the historical development and synchronic variation of so-called “/h/ insertion” (/h/ before vowel-initial words such as apple, under, etc.). It argues that the maintenance of /h/ insertion in post-colonial English varieties around the world provides an ideal opportunity for research on language change under dialect contact scenarios involving British donors and other dialects. After an assessment of regional distribution patterns in current World Englishes, I present some first findings from a large-scale quant Show more