"Language change in contemporary English represents a burgeoning field and has primarily been studied from a corpus-linguistic perspective since the mid-1990s (e.g., Hundt and Mair 1999; Leech et al. 2009; Mair 2006; Mair and Leech 2006). Despite relevant article-length investigations on historical recordings from the perspectives of Historical Pragmatics (Jucker and Landert 2015) and Conversation Analysis (Clayman and Heritage 2002a; Clayman et al. 2006, 2007; Heritage and Clayman 2013), as well as the acknowledgement of the need for historical spoken corpora in Interactional Linguistics (e.g., Barth-Weingarten 2014; Couper-Kuhlen 2011), questions of recent change in interactional English have nevertheless remained under-researched to date. Because of the lack of suitable recordings, the historical study of recent change in spoken English was not considered to be a methodologically feasible research direction even as little as a decade ago (e.g., Mair 2006: 21). Against this backdrop, the present study breaks new ground in analysing evolving practices in spoken English (here forms of reported speech) based on authentic recordings from different periods"--

Analysing data from 1978-1988 / 2003-2013, this book explores recent change in the practices of quoting at parliamentary question time.

This reference book is primarily a procedural work which examines the many forms, customs, and practices which have been developed and established for the House of Commons since Confederation in 1867. It provides a distinctive Canadian perspective in describing procedure in the House up to the end of the first session of the 36th Parliament in Sept. 1999. The material is presented with full commentary on the historical circumstances which have shaped the current approach to parliamentary business. Key Speaker's rulings and statements are also documented and the considerable body of practice, interpretation, and precedents unique to the Canadian House of Commons is amply illustrated. Chapters of the book cover the following: parliamentary institutions; parliaments and ministries; privileges and immunities; the House and its Members; parliamentary procedure; the physical & administrative setting; the Speaker & other presiding officers; the parliamentary cycle; sittings of the House; the daily program; oral & written questions; the process of debate; rules of order & decorum; the curtailment of debate; special debates; the legislative process; delegated legislation; financial procedures; committees of the whole House; committees; private Members' business; public petitions; private bills practice; and the parliamentary record. Includes index.