Dialects vary in their allophonic patterns, which can affect listeners' phonological and lexical representations. I explore how different exposure to dialect-specific allophonic patterns for two vowels in American English, /ae ai/, affects listeners' lexical processing behaviors across three perception tasks: perceptual similarity, priming, and…

Iterated learning models of language evolution have typically been used to study the emergence of language, rather than historical language change. We use iterated learning models to investigate historical change in the accent classes of two Korean dialects. Simulations reveal that many of the patterns of historical change can be explained as…

This study concerns the development of the determiners MINE/MY and THINE/THY in the Early Modern English period. The -N forms had essentially been ousted before words starting with consonants over the Middle English period, and over the subsequent centuries, these forms also fell into disuse before words starting with initial vowels and…

Does language development drive language change? A common account of language change attributes the regularity of certain patterns to children's learning biases. The present study examines these predictions for change-in-progress in the use of "must" in Toronto English. Historically, modal verbs like "must" start with root…

This article examines the diversity of sign language varieties used in Lima, Peru. The majority of the analysis is based on lexicostatistics, using data collected in 2014 to compare nine signers and to determine foreign influences. This technique is used to better understand the linguistic situation without the need for a large corpus of data. Two…

In order to empirically examine the claim that sign language varieties in Hong Kong developed partially from sign language varieties in Shanghai, this paper examines the intuitive judgements of Hong kong signers about the similarities and difference in basic vocabulary items in sign language varieties in Shanghai and in Hong Kong. Specifically,…

Offers a tentative explanation for the development of the phonological processes of aspiration and deletion of syllable final and word final position /s/ in Cuban Spanish. Summarizes other explanations of this phenomenon. (PMJ)

Compares studies of English-based creoles in Atlantic with work on pidgins and creoles in Pacific to examine the core of lexicon that cannot be traced to current standard English and historical relationship between languages. The lexical base of Pacific varieties was both English and English-based creoles of the Atlantic. Grammatical and lexical…

Explores the possible origins of Malacca Creole Portuguese, and compares and contrasts Papia Kristang with other related creoles. (AM)

Examines different hypotheses on the origin of the Creoles of the Indian Ocean, and common lexical and phonological bonds among them. (AM)

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)

Investigates the tonal changes in Mandarin Chinese from 1932 when "standard Mandarin" was legitimized to the period between 1963-85 during which two studies on tones were carried out. Discussion focuses on differences over time, and on differences between actual pronunciations or words in Taipei and Beijing and their dictionary…

A study comparing the dialects of Ozark and Appalachian English addresses a possible relationship between the two dialects. The study compares selected structures in the two dialects in order to (1) examine similarities and differences, (2) investigate the behavior of a range of ages (10-70+) to determine patterns of change, (3) examine…

Suggests that Slovene is acquiring a verb-second (V2) word order. Slovene is compared with Serbo-Croat to reveal diverged word order of these languages. Aspects of the history of the Germanic languages are examined for clues on current and possible future changes in Slovene. (Author/LMO)

Discusses and compares the syntactic features of free relative clauses found in Castilian and Aragonese dialects of Old Spanish. The role of clitics (nontonic pronominals) and the lexical innovations of the wh-question compound-type clauses are highlighted. (TR)