Frequency and variability in the use of modal verbs in Zimbabwean English

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dc.contributor.author Chapwanya, Faith Chiedza
dc.contributor.author Nel, Joanine Hester
dc.date.accessioned 2024-12-10T13:48:07Z
dc.date.available 2024-12-10T13:48:07Z
dc.date.issued 2024-09
dc.description.abstract This corpus-based exploratory study examines modal verbs in Zimbabwean English (ZimE), and British English, to determine whether there are variations in use between the two varieties. Data from the ZimE corpus and the International Corpus of English Great Britain (ICE-GB) were analysed quantitatively and statistically to gain insights into how the usage patterns of modal verbs might be influenced by the usage context. Results show variations in the frequency of can and will, with the ZimE corpus registering more frequencies compared to the ICE-GB. The frequencies of could, may, might, and would were higher in the ICE-GB compared to the ZimE corpus. Overall, the ICE-GB contained more modal verbs than the ZimE corpus. In the spoken registers, results indicate that could, may, might, shall, and would occurred more in the ICE-GB, while can and will were attested more in the ZimE corpus compared to the ICE-GB. In the written registers, the ICE-GB recorded more occurrences of could, may, might, and would. A qualitative analysis was done by means of semantic interpretations of the modal verbs in different contexts. Results show the use of can be able to occurring as a modal phrase. The effects of language contact also lead to code-switching. Both results serve as possible motivations for variation. Furthermore, the use of can and will in past time contexts, and the use of the habitual will in past contexts, account for the higher overall frequencies of can and will in the ZimE corpus. en_US
dc.description.department Afrikaans en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-04:Quality Education en_US
dc.description.sponsorship The University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. en_US
dc.description.uri https://link.springer.com/journal/41701 en_US
dc.identifier.citation Chapwanya, F.C., Nel, J.H. Frequency and Variability in the Use of Modal Verbs in Zimbabwean English. Corpus Pragmatics 8, 201–227 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41701-024-00165-2. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 2509-9507 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2509-9515 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1007/s41701-024-00165-2
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/99868
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Springer en_US
dc.rights © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. en_US
dc.subject Zimbabwean English en_US
dc.subject Modal verbs en_US
dc.subject Variation en_US
dc.subject Language contact en_US
dc.subject SDG-04: Quality education en_US
dc.title Frequency and variability in the use of modal verbs in Zimbabwean English en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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