FAO TERESA MARIA

[Chris Goss]

Did you send me an email with links? Not happy with clicking on such things unless I know more

[Teresa Maria]

Dear Chris,

Yes, I did. It is a survey on changes in reported speech, addressed at native speakers and advanced users of English. Unfortunately, there is no longer a possibility of attaching screenshots as files, so I have to paste a sample question here:

16. What changes in the use of reported speech have you noticed? *

the backshift of tenses is used less often now than it was in the past

the backshift of tenses is used less consistently now than it was in the past (speakers may use it or not; the rules are less strict now)

the reporting verb is now used more often in the present tense (e.g. 'the President says...' rather than 'said')

the backshift of tenses is gradually disappearing

people are more likely to use direct quotations than reported speech

I have not noticed any changes

Other:

This is definitely not a virus, but an online questionnaire. I hesitated whether to post the link here on the forum, as it has nothing to do with aviation; maybe I will. (Do you think I should? It would definitely be off-topic.)

Yours sincerely,

Teresa

[Chris Goss]

Ah is was legitimate but I am not sure I am the right person to ask. I last studied English language in 1977……..

[Teresa Maria]

Dear Chris,
Thank you very much for your answer. Of course, you are the right person to ask because you are a native speaker of English and you use English daily. I am not asking about a language you studied at school and have not used since. I hope you will find the time to participate.

Thank you very much in advance.

Yours sincerely,
Teresa

[Chris Goss]

Teresa: email me again with the link and I will see what I can do