Modals and Quasi-Modals in English World-Wide

Abstract

This study explores the distribution of modals and quasi-modals in the twenty English dialects represented in the Global Web-based English Corpus (GloWbE). Intervarietal trends are observed across and within the Englishes of the “Inner circle” and “Outer circle.” Ratios calculated for onomasiological pairings of modal expressions suggest that Inner circle varieties tend to be associated more closely than Outer circle varieties—and “epicentral” varieties more so than non-epicentral ones—with trends of frequency change that have been identified in previous diachronic studies of the reference varieties, British and American English. A further type of change is revealed by semantic analysis: Inner circle varieties tend to embrace epistemic modality more readily than Outer circle varieties. Possible explanations considered for intervarietal differences include areal proximity, epicentrality, evolutionary status, and colloquiality.