In this study, we explore native and non-native syntactic processing, paying special attention to the language distance factor. To this end, we compared how native speakers of Basque and highly proficient non-native speakers of Basque who are native speakers of Spanish process certain core aspects of Basque syntax. Our results suggest that…

A discussion of Leonard Bloomfield's theory on grammatical agreement examines agreement within Bloomfield's overall scheme of syntactic analysis and relates it to current work in syntax. Bloomfield's three types of agreement (concord, government, and cross-reference) are outlined and compared to the contemporary distinction between pro-drop and…

Examines how the term "Middle Arabic" has been used insufficiently, inappropriately, and in inconsistent manners, and also defines Middle Arabic by historical period and linguistic level. An analysis is made of Middle Arabic's multiglossic complexity and the unique structure of Middle Arabic compared to Old and Modern Arabic. (23 references) (GLR)

A study investigated the way given and new information is conveyed in Korean discourse by applying a taxonomy of given-new information, based on English discourse, to Korean. The taxonomy presumes that information packaging in natural language reflects sender's hypotheses about receiver's assumptions, beliefs, and strategies. Two types of Korean…

A comparison of the application of two current theories of stress to a particular stress pattern found in the Salish language Sooke is presented. Hammond's (1986) grid-like tree structure representation of stress is compared with Halle and Vergnaud's (1986) tree-like grid structure. Examples in the Australian language Maranungku show that, in…

It is argued that the analysis of stress placement in Piraha offers important new evidence on the proper characterization of prosodic organization and the notational devices necessary to express this organization. It is shown that Piraha stress placement is intractable to either a grid account or a binary branching analysis, but that an insightful…

Supports the claim that aspect in English and written Arabic is a function of a variety of sentential elements including verb form, verb class, and adverbials. The two languages are basically similar in regard to two universal aspectual distinctions: syntactic categories and semantic categories. (TR)

A dialect survey of the Penghu Islands concluded that the Penghu dialects belong to the Southern Min; variation within the dialects is considerable in terms of changed tones, certain finals, and some lexical items; and the Penghu dialects can be further divided into two large groups. (Author/CB)

Proposes a model of target- and native-language proverb comparison which can be used to assist proverb analysis in the language curriculum, using examples from Mandinka, a West African language. (Author/CB)

A study of the relationships between Chinese dialects based on a quantitative measure of dialect affinity is summarized. First, tone values in all the dialect localities available in the early 1970s were used to calculate the dialectal differences in terms of tone height with respect to the "yin and yang" split. In the late 1970s, calculations of…

Two studies of adult aphasia, focusing on phonological disturbances, are presented. In the first study, subjects were 15 adults wit moderate aphasia and five age-matched controls. A variety of speech production and speech perception tests were administered, including tests of syllable discrimination, auditive word-picture matching, articulation,…

This study examines the geographic distribution of 13 eastern, western, and southern Slavic languages. Commentary on the expansion of Proto-Slavic precedes a brief history of the Slavic literary languages. Separate sections on comparative phonology and comparative grammar are included. A selected bibliography, classified by subject, concludes this…

Fifteen articles are presented in this collection on contrastive linguistics: "On Syntactic Levels--One Tertium Comparison is in Contrastive Linguistics" (L. F. Jakobsen and J. Olsen); "Equivalence in Bilingual Lexicography: From Correspondence Relation to Communicative Strategy" (R. R. K. Hartmann); "How Useful Are Word…

The encoding of Swedish syntactic information in a study of linguistic data processing is described in detail. The choice of syntactic variables and classification criteria, illustrated with examples, is also discussed. In addition, uses of the coding for contrasting languages, as in this study's comparison of Swedish, Finnish, and English word…

This paper about the history and distribution of indigenous languages of Bolivia is divided into two parts. The first part deals with: (1) the developments of comparative work in South American Indian languages, (2) the phonological problems of comparative work in recently written languages, and (3) the apparent conflicts when dealing with early…