Genitive Variation in English: Conceptual Factors in Synchronic and Diachronic Studies (Topics in English Linguistics [TiEL], 42)

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies, which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics. For further publications in English linguistics see also our Dialects of English book series. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher. Rosenbach (English language and linguistics, Heinrich Heine Universität, Düsseldorf) describes how the s-genitive and the of-genitive constructions are distributed in English, and discusses why this distribution may occur as it does. The research includes comparison of data gathered from an experimental study of present-day British and American speakers of English with the results of a corpus analysis from late Middle and early Modern English. It lends new insights into not only the genitive variation in English, but linguistic variation and change in general, such as why and when language may change. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR