Rottet & Sprouse (2008)

• Rottet, Kevin J. & Rex Sprouse. 2008. 'Tag questions in Welsh', Diachronica 25:1, 20-53.

 Abstract:
 "Modern Colloquial Welsh (MCW) displays a considerable variety of tag question patterns. In this paper we offer a unified account for the divergent developments in modern Welsh dialects, focusing on tags attached to “normal” or VSO clauses.
 We propose a scenario of how the MCW system of tags is descended from the pre-modern system by processes of reanalysis and grammaticalization. We show that South Walian dialects have elaborated a system of tag questions in which the tag reverses the polarity of the anchor to which it is attached, while North Walian dialects have followed a principle of constant polarity in which tags anticipate the polarity of the expected response."