Investigates the developments of "strengthened" possessives such as "hers" and "hern" (earlier her) through a fresh examination of a substantial number of Middle English texts. While the "s" forms developed in different ways, both resulted in a processing advantage, as they signal to the hearer that no head…

Discusses a written linguistic system, evidenced in medieval mixed-language business texts, that was replaced by Early Modern English. Examines medieval mixed-language business writing from the point of view of suffix mergers, as the lack of language specific suffixes resulted in code-intermediate states. (Author/VWL)

Examines newspaper statements about a politician, describing their rhetorical work in the political context and suggesting that the three segments of the articles were conceptually distant texts due to the degree of ambiguity that made an insider reading difficult for foreigners. The paper discusses the double exposure needed to arrive at a…

Argues that the formal properties of language reflect the underlying mental processes that individuals deploy in problem-solving situations. This analysis of the linguistic features of "private writing" reveals that writers utilize their linguistic systems to organize and direct strategic mental processes. (69 references) (CK)