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This is an innovative study of variation among linguistic items in what has
been traditionally described as present perfect contexts. The study offers
analyses of new data sets taken from an interestingly diverse set of non-
native Englishes. While comprising traditional second-language varieties such
as Indian English, Singapore English, East African English in the
investigation of the present perfect, the study extends its scope to cover
learner varieties of English spoken in Russia and Germany.
The author takes her reader on an amazing variationist journey around the
globe, revealing chapter after chapter the commonalities and differences in
the patterns of use of the English present perfect and, finally, developing a
comprehensive perspective allowing for robust generalisations across
numerous data sets.
Moreover, empirical data serves as a baseline for taking a stand on a number
of currently debated issues in variationist sociolinguistics, research on
second language acquisition as well as research on linguistic complexity.
Thus operating on the interface of various linguistic paradigms, the book
addresses a vast audience including students of linguistics and researchers
with various fields of specialization.
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