The Role of Input

Abstract

Abstract This final chapter on the grammars of New Englishes asks a less common question, namely: Why are some syntactic traits more well established in a given dialect than others? The substrate-based account presented so far is powerful when looking at individual features, but it proves to be too powerful when we look across the whole dialect. When we ask why only a subset of these forms has become entrenched over time, the substrate account overpredicts change. This chapter uses contemporary theories of second language acquisition (SLA) to argue that a full account of new dialect formation out of bilingualism must factor in the role of input in individual learning, and the effect of diminishing contact with the original colonial variety.