Ralf Thiede
 

We tend to classify exceptional morphology and constructions as “irregular,” as in irregular verbs and irregular nouns.  But we should not dismiss the possibility that English speakers regularly avail themselves of such peripheral systems in alternation with core systems.  I wish to demonstrate that in three representative areas and shall provide the technical details:

-     Strong agreement alternating with week agreement: English has not entirely eliminated strong agreement.  It still applies to the verb be and in some contexts to have (hence Is he sad, not *Does he be sad?).  English uses it for command forms, which has main verb raising not just in standing expressions (hence Hear ye!,not *Ye hear!) but also in productive constructions.

-     V2 constructions alternating with subject-verb constructions: English normally requires a subject in matrix position to receive Case, but it has a couple of options of licensing an overtly unfilled subject position.  There-constructions can do this, as can locative inversions such as In the dark room was a green balloon, with the subject remaining, unraised, in VP.

-     Inherent Case alternating with structural Case: English has eliminated inherent Case assignment to a point where it can now even passivize indirect objects (e.g. He was given two awards), in sharp contrast to most other Germanic languages.  On the other hand, editors can still insist on whom in sentences such as Whom did you want to help?

If speakers of standard English can make such choices, then so can speakers of other varieties.  I will suggest that we should at least consider a mixed-systems analysis when we describe such dialectal features as plural inflection vs. non-redundant semantic plural markers in AAE (e.g. two pound of sugar), double modals in Appalachian English, or scrambling-like ordering in Pennsylvania German influenced English.