Multiple Modality in the Lallans Territory: Current Vernacular (Un)acceptability of the Syntax of Modal Combinations in South-Eastern Scotland

Abstract

This paper has the purpose to provide a greater understanding of the current use of the syntax of Multiple Modals (MMs) also known as Modal Combinations in the Southern part of Scotland. A series of 8 clauses, each containing one particular combination, is proposed in order to determine the acceptability of these combinations or their potential replacement with alternative constructions. The type of sentence written, the current dialectal knowledge of the respondents, and their grammatical preferences will shed the first light on the level of stability of these vernacular constructions on the ancestral territory of MMs in which only very few field surveys have been conducted to date.