Taming the Vernacular: From Dialect to Written Standard Language examines the differences between 'standard' and 'nonstandard' varieties of several different languages. Not only are some of the best-known languages of Europe represented here, but also some that have been less well-researched in the past. The chapters address the syntax of Dutch, English, French, Finnish, Galician, German and Spanish. For these languages, and many others, it is the standard varieties on which the most extensive syntactic research has been carried out, with the result that very little is known about the syntax of their dialects or the spoken colloquial varieties. The editors of this volume seek to redress the balance by taking a cross-linguistic perspective on the historical development of the standardised varieties. This allows them to identify some common characteristics of spoken language. It also helps the reader to understand the kinds of filtering processes that are involved in standardization, which result in the syntax of spoken colloquial language being different from the syntax of the standard varieties.Taming the Vernacular: From Dialect to Written Standard Language is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Linguistics, particularly those taking courses in sociolinguistics, dialectology, and historical linguistics. The focus on a variety of languages also makes this text suitable for students studying courses which cover the linguistic aspects of European languages.

1. The syntax of spoken languageJenny Cheshire and Dieter Stein2. Dialect versus standard language: nature versus cultureJaap van Marle3. Syntax and varietiesDieter Stein4. Into and out of the standard language: the particle ni in FinnishMaria Vilkuna5. Involvement in 'standard' and 'nonstandard' EnglishJenny Cheshire6. This, that, yon: on 'three-dimensional' systemsGunnel Melchers7. Grammatical variation and the avoidance of stress clashes in Northern Low GermanGünter Rohdenburg8. Norms made easy: case marking with modal verbs in FinnishLea Laitinen9. Articles and number in oral or close-to-oral varietiesBrigitte Schlieben-Lange10. Proscribed collocations with shall and will: the eighteenth century (non-) standard reassessedLeslie K. Arnovick11. The genitives of the relative pronouns in present-day EnglishAimo Sepp(TM)nen12. 'Ah'm going for to give youse a story today': remarks on second plural pronouns in EnglishesSusan Wright13. Strengthening identity: differentiation and change in contemporary GalacianJohannes Kabatek14. Left dislocation in French: varieties, norm and usageAlain Berrendonner and Marie-José Reichler-Béguelin15. Dialect variation as a consequence of standardizationDieter Wanner16. The atternings of nonstandard syntax in GermanBeate Henn-MemmesheimerContributors