Some of recently proposed phonotactic learners are tier-based bigram learners that restrict their hypothesis space to patterns between two segments that are adjacent at the tier level. This assumption is understandable considering that typologically frequent nonadjacent sound patterns are predominantly those that hold between two tier-adjacent…

Analyzes the mechanisms involved in speech level shift in discourse that contains the "des/mas" forms. Concludes that level shift is often used to signal empathy between speakers and to indicate coherence and the hierarchical positioning of utterances in discourse. (EKN)

Examines the various aspects of natural conversation in order to provide a theoretically comprehensive schema that accounts for a conversation's structure. Aspects considered are: (1) speaker-listener initial and turn-change behavior; (2) the listener's speaker-directed behavior; (3) interlistener and simultaneous behaviors; and (4) the function…

Discussion of the Spanish indeterminate reflexive construction, the impersonal reflexive, finds that prototype theory allows this subjectless Spanish construction to be included within the category of generally subject-bearing indeterminates in Romance languages. (MSE)

Reports three studies of comprehension of French subject relative clauses and two forms of object relative clauses. The first tested the hypothesis that competition between noun phrases, memory load, and perspective maintenance determine difficulty of role assignment in reversible relative clauses; others compared subject relatives and inverted…

Discusses several linguistic features at the phonological, morphological, structural, and semantic levels that should be investigated when applying comparative methodology to distant relationships. Advises caution in proposing proto-forms for distantly related languages, as they can obscure useful identification markers. (EKN)

Examines speech convergence as a primitive form of socialized speech. Discusses the extent of speech patter matching by three-year-old children and whether a talkative/reticence factor influenced degrees of convergence. (EKN)

Reports on a study which explored the intonational differences between constant plus variable utterances and variable plus variable utterances, and which sought to use intonation to resolve the lexical additive vs syntactic representation of beginning productions. (AM)

Explores the impact of new technological developments on three major areas of current interest to students of the language sciences: objective phonetic descriptions of speech sounds, the phenomenon of coarticulation, and improved methods of diagnosis and assessment of speech disorders. (39 references) (Author/OD)

Reviews some problems which have risen from the neglect of actual language behavior data in favor of data comprised solely of intuitions as to sentences' grammaticality. Discusses a study of syntactic variation across sex in Japanese as an example of research using socially situated real speech. (EKN)

Demonstrates that both syllables and vowels are carriers of word stress. With the postulation of stronger activation flow between syllables and V-units and weaker activation between syllables and C-units, it is possible to unambiguously associate stress with the syllable and to explain the differential sensitivity of consonants and vowels to…

Rejects the "etymological fallacy" theory, which seeks to minimize the role of etymology in the study of semantics, arguing that etymology represents a perfectly coherent philosophy of language, given that linguistic change is a legitimate source of anxiety for any culture founded on laws or sacred texts, whether oral or written. (MSE)

Examines claims and assumptions of theory of "government phonology," using as a starting point a monograph on phonological government in Japanese, in which the theory is applied to a range of phonological and morphological data. Main theoretical concepts in the theory are introduced and critically discussed, and connections to other theories of…

Discusses the current meager state of knowledge of sex differentiation in language variation and concludes that poor theorizing and inadequate methodology are to blame. Describes a study of pronoun usage by male and female Japanese speakers to show that research on sex differentiation in language is possible. (EKN)

Examines Japanese equivalents of the six mental predicates defined as semantic universals in Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory, with special attention to syntax and semantics of complementation types. It is shown that each primitive predicate has a specific set of syntactic frames for expressing primitive meaning and that extended meanings that…