Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 8-20-2020
Volume
2
Issue
2
Abstract
This paper brings together previous research on the Midland English dialect region construction want + [intransitive preposition] heretofore referred to as the wants in phenomenon. I will build on past research of wants in and present its construction, background, sociolinguistic relevance and will then present further questions I have about the construction, my hypotheses on these questions, and results from my own intuitions as a speaker of the Midland dialect and a linguistic survey. With reference to a similar Midland construction, need + [past participle], I ultimately propose that although these two constructions share many of the same syntactic restrictions, wants in is a separate construction that follows an alternative verb hierarchy.
Recommended Citation
Fischer, Lane, "Who wants in on this linguistic analysis?" (2020). Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity. 5.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ygdp/5