Principles in the emergence and evolution of linguistic features in World Englishes

The study explores various models explaining the emergence of linguistic features in English varieties, analyzing five non-standard forms, including dialects, pidgins, and creoles. It evaluates two morphosyntactic and two phonological features, critiquing theoretical approaches and recommending usage-based functionalist models, particularly Bybee's and Ansaldo's frameworks. The work emphasizes functionalist and cognitive universals over formalist approaches, highlighting language contact and speaker interactions as key drivers of language change and evolution.