Left-dislocated strings: Modern English speech-like texts vs. spoken contemporary English

What is it about?

It is about the formal and functional features of strings that include both a left-dislocated constituent and a coreferring resumptive in the subsequent clause in Modern English letters and diaries. These left-dislocated strings embody, to differing degrees, the reportedly speech-like and informal contemporary Left Dislocation construction.

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Why is it important?

The results provide a clear and broad picture of (a) their overall usage profile in comparison with contemporary spoken Left Dislocation, (b) the processing constraints at work within them, and (c) their unlikely status as prospective markers of orality in Modern English epistolary prose.