Are left-dislocated NPs markers of orality in Modern English speech-related texts?
What is it about?
It is about the complexity of left-dislocated noun phrases in the Modern English period (1500–1914). The purpose is twofold: to estimate the effects of a number of predictors on complexity, operationalized as word-length, and to explore whether shorter LDed NPs, which are characteristic of contemporary spoken English, symbolize the claimed ‘orality’ of earlier speech-related texts.
Why is it important?
The results provide preliminary insight into the accommodation strategies that might facilitate the resumption of heavier LDed NPs. As regards genre, it is in speech-purposed (drama and sermons) and mixed genres (proceedings and fiction) where LDed NPs might be claimed to constitute a trait of orality - deliberately employed by writers in order to reproduce conversation. Surprisingly, speech-like genres do not include LDed items as often, and these are just as complex as those attested in writing-related texts.