Arabic is characterized by diglossia, which involves the use of two language varieties within a single speech community: Spoken Arabic (SpA) for everyday speech and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for formal speech and reading/writing. Earlier research suggests that some Arabic-speaking children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might favor MSA…

This study tests the Competing Systems Hypothesis (CSH) as applied to adult second language acquisition of aspect in Spanish. The CSH purports that differences among tutored and untutored learners result from competition between one system of underlying grammatical knowledge and another of learned metalinguistic knowledge in tutored learners…

This study builds on prior research on second language (L2) Spanish psych verbs, which has centered on morphosyntactic properties, by examining their syntactic distribution, which relies on lexical semantic knowledge. The fact that certain forms are licensed for some verbs, but not others, is the result of an underlying lexical semantic difference…

Predicting the outcome of language contact situations is complicated by the fact that the primary agents of linguistic change--individual speakers--are unpredictable (van Coetsem, 2000; Thomason, 2001). My dissertation examines the variety of Spanish spoken in Galicia, Spain, where individual language choices are often motivated not by utility but…

This dissertation project examines the language contact situation of Chipilo, a Veneto-Spanish bilingual community of immigrant origin in central Mexico, focusing both on the social motivations for the sustained bilingualism observed and the linguistic outcomes in the Spanish of the community. Chipilo is a unique community in that Veneto, a…

Investigates the use of preposition and subject with the infinitive, a construction not usually mentioned in Spanish grammar books. This construction is as commonplace in some regions as it is unacceptable in others, a situation giving rise to controversy. Some linguists believe that this construction is more prevalent among less-educated people.…

In spoken German "weil" frequently occurs with verb-second (v2) word order instead of prescribed ver-last (vlast). This article provides an overview of the variation and its historical development and offers suggestions and materials for a linguistic unit in the advanced language classroom. Current research demonstrates that the variation is not…

Illustrates variation affecting the position of pronouns in complex verb phrases among native French speakers. Describes the methods used to verify the hypothesis that there exists a correlation between individual hesitation and lack of consensus in the community. Analyzes data from questionnaires administered to 551 persons in Switzerland and…

This study investigated the hypothesis that in language contact situations, bilinguals develop strategies aimed at lightening the cognitive load of having to remember and use two different linguistic systems, resulting in changes in the secondary language. The study examined four specific strategies (simplification of grammatical categories and…

Suggests that the variety of English spoken in Brunei (BNE), sometimes called nonstandard, is still at an early stage of development and there is little awareness among its speakers of some differences from standard English (STE). Results of a grammaticality judgment test administered to 106 university students, designed to find nonstandard verb…

The Spanish dialects of the Southwest United States have received little serious attention until recently. The present volume contains studies designed to contribute to the understanding and acceptance of Southwest Spanish. The book consists of the following chapters: (1) "Linguistic Diversity in Southwest Spanish," by Garland D. Bills…

The 25 selected papers contained in this volume reflect the current diversity of interests and research methods within the field of sociolinguistics. Titles include: "What is a Language?"; "The Unreality of Quantitative Figures"; "Addressee-Oriented Features in Spoken Discourse"; "Women's Speech, Women's…

This description of Appalachian speech, derived from one part of the final report of a research project on Appalachian Dialects, is intended as a reference work for educators, particularly reading specialists, English teachers, language arts specialists, and speech pathologists. Chapters deal with the following main topics: (1) a sociolinguistic…