Book contents
- Worldwide Perspectives on English Usage
- Worldwide Perspectives on English Usage
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Section 1 Usage Variation and Codification
- Section 2 Usage Variation amid Social Diversity and Political Change
- 5 Effects of L1 and Social Attitudes on English Gender-Fair Pronouns
- 6 Lexical Influence of Migrant Languages on English in Australia
- 7 Metaphor Variations in Public Discourse in a Dynamic Multilingual Society
- 8 Light-Verb Constructions vs. Simplex Verbs in Sri Lankan English
- 9 Uniformity and Diversity at the Same Time?
- Section 3 Corpus-Based Research on Variable Usage in Place and Medium
- Index
- References
8 - Light-Verb Constructions vs. Simplex Verbs in Sri Lankan English
Corpus-Based Explorations of Sociobiographic and Structural Factors
from Section 2 - Usage Variation amid Social Diversity and Political Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 June 2026
Book contents
- Worldwide Perspectives on English Usage
- Worldwide Perspectives on English Usage
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Section 1 Usage Variation and Codification
- Section 2 Usage Variation amid Social Diversity and Political Change
- 5 Effects of L1 and Social Attitudes on English Gender-Fair Pronouns
- 6 Lexical Influence of Migrant Languages on English in Australia
- 7 Metaphor Variations in Public Discourse in a Dynamic Multilingual Society
- 8 Light-Verb Constructions vs. Simplex Verbs in Sri Lankan English
- 9 Uniformity and Diversity at the Same Time?
- Section 3 Corpus-Based Research on Variable Usage in Place and Medium
- Index
- References
Summary
Light-verb constructions (LVCs) in English, that is, combinations such as HAVE a chat or TAKE a walk, have been discussed from various angles. Historically, LVCs are a rather young lexico-grammatical structure catalysed by the increasing prominence of conversion as a word formation process. Functionally, LVCs are associated with informal, colloquial contexts of language use. Further, LVCs occur with varying frequencies across different varieties of English. Yet, reliable multifactorial explorations of LVCs – particularly in contrast to simplex verbs as their structural alternants – are still rare. The present study examines LVCs in Sri Lankan English (SLE), a localised second-language variety in South Asia. The analysis reveals that the phonological principles of rhythm and segment alternation, which have so far not been explored in the choice between LVCs and simplex verbs, are of central importance. SLE speakers prefer LVCs when they adhere more consistently to rules of rhythm and segment alternation than the alternative simplex verbs. Also sociobiographic factors – particularly ethnicity and the language spoken at home – matter for the alternation in the Sri Lankan context.
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- Worldwide Perspectives on English UsageInto the Third Millennium, pp. 206 - 227Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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