‘I’m been ill’: De-constructing the Shetlandic be -perfect

Abstract

This paper examines the controversial origins and development of the Shetlandic

-perfect using a usage-based, Construction Grammar (CxG) framework. While Standard English restricted

be

-auxiliaries to mutative intransitive verbs before largely replacing them with

have

, Shetlandic and Orkney dialects grammaticalized the

be

-perfect across a much wider range of contexts, including transitive and stative verbs. Central to the study is the debate between the Norn Hypothesis, which views the feature as a Scandinavian relic, and the theory of internal Scottish development. To test these hypotheses, the paper analyzes 19th-century “language from below” via the Scottish Pauper Petition Corpus (ScotPP). Findings indicate that while the

be

-perfect remained productive in mainland Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries, it maintained stricter transitivity and aspectual constraints than those found in the Northern Isles. The paper proposes a new theoretical model based on Diasystematic Construction Grammar (DCxG). It argues that the Shetlandic variety emerged through a pro-diasystematic change, where contact between Norn and Scots led to pragmatic bleaching and the reorganization of the constructicon. This process allowed a schematic

be

-perfect diaconstruction to expand its slot-fillers, ultimately ousting the

have

-perfect through constructional competition and sociolinguistic indexing. The study concludes that while Scottish influence likely reinforced the construction, the unique Shetlandic distribution suggests a complex synthesis of internal evolution and intense linguistic contact.