Are left-dislocated NPs markers of orality in Modern English speech-related texts?

What is it about?

It is about the complexity of left-dislocated noun phrases in the Modern English period (1500–1914). The purpose is twofold: to estimate the effects of a number of predictors on complexity, operationalized as word-length, and to explore whether shorter LDed NPs, which are characteristic of contemporary spoken English, symbolize the claimed ‘orality’ of earlier speech-related texts.

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Why is it important?

The results provide preliminary insight into the accommodation strategies that might facilitate the resumption of heavier LDed NPs. As regards genre, it is in speech-purposed (drama and sermons) and mixed genres (proceedings and fiction) where LDed NPs might be claimed to constitute a trait of orality - deliberately employed by writers in order to reproduce conversation. Surprisingly, speech-like genres do not include LDed items as often, and these are just as complex as those attested in writing-related texts.