Non-canonical syntax in an Expanding Circle variety

Abstract

Abstract This paper analyzes fronting constructions in spoken Korean(ized) English. Non-canonical syntax is an important means of structuring discourse, but its use by speakers of Expanding Circle Englishes has so far received only insufficient attention in studies of World Englishes. Taking a corpus-linguistic approach, this study determines to which extent topicalization and left-dislocation are used by South Korean speakers of English in informal conversations. In our explanation of the results, which show that fronting constructions are clearly part of the Korean English repertoire albeit used with varying frequencies, we mainly draw on notions of language contact (i.e. Korean as the substrate being a topic-prominent language) and language acquisition processes.