Grammar competition has been proposed as a model for second language (L2) acquisition. Variational Learning provides a framework within which to investigate the idea of grammar competition as the model requires a marriage of quantitative properties of the input with Universal Grammar. A diachronic variational model of grammar competition is…

Even young EFL learners who have not yet learned L2 grammar will notice language patterns if, when retrieving exemplars ("item-based patterns"), they succeed in making form-meaning connections (FMCs). Item-based patterns, termed formulaic sequences (FS), serve as a basis for creative constructions. Although learners are implicitly…

Word order is one of the earliest aspects of grammar that the child acquires, because her early utterances already respect the basic word order of the target language. However, the question of the nature of early syntactic representations is subject to debate. Approaches inspired by formal syntax assume that the head-complement order,…

Two experiments using a sentence recall task tested the effect of animacy on syntactic processing in Japanese sentence production. Experiment 1 and 2 showed that when Japanese native speakers recalled transitive sentences, they were more likely to assign animate entities earlier positions in the sentence than inanimate entities. In addition,…

The study examines strategies multilingual children use to interpret grammatical relations, focusing on their two primary languages, Lajamanu Warlpiri and Light Warlpiri. Both languages use mixed systems for indicating grammatical relations. In both languages ergative-absolutive case-marking indicates core arguments, but to different extents in…

Discussed the relationship between definiteness and word order (WO) from three aspects: the position of the unquantified noun phrases as related to their definiteness; effects of quantifiers on WO; and relative order of different noun phrases in the same clause. Data verify that the correlation between definiteness and WO is valid for larger…

Recent unrelated studies reveal what appears to be a common acquisitional pattern in second language acquisition (SLA). While some findings show that advanced learners can indeed achieve convergent, native-like competence with formal syntactic properties (even when these are underdetermined by the input), other findings suggest that they can…

Examines word order in French relative clauses, the last clauses to undergo reanalysis to [SVO] word order through Old and Middle French. Analysis shows that although main clauses change from [SVO] to [TVX] to [SVO] in a progressive manner, clauses in "que" show a preference for [TVX] order until the 13th century, with a resurgence in…

Two papers on linguistic theory are presented. The first examines the relationship between two subsystems of Danish grammar: (1) the morphology and meaning of the two passives (a morphological passive and a periphrastic passive); and (2) the word order rules and meanings attached to indefinite subjects, irrespective of voice. It is claimed that…

The contention that Esperanto is a natural linguistic system is discussed. Research is cited concerning universals of word order, dominant word order, polar type languages, Esperanto as a verb-subject-object language, and gapping in Esperanto. It is concluded that contrary to grammatical tradition, word order is not and cannot be completely free.…

An alternative account of the Old English verb-complement word order and the change from OV to VO is offered, based on an analysis of 16 Old English texts. Evidence is provided that the change does not involve abrupt reanalysis but rather synchronic competition between two grammars, beginning in the Old English period and continuing into Middle…

This research suggests a possible diachronic explanation for the emergence of OVS (Object-Verb-Subject) as basic sentence word order in Carib languages. The application of afterthought grammaticalization patterns to explain diachronic change in the position of subject necessitates some modification of Hyman's and Venneman's hypotheses. Neither…

The liberty of deviation from the dominant word order in Esperanto and the natural languages is considered. Greenberg's classification of the languages according to four criteria, the liberty of word order in Sanskrit, and the norm of grammaticality in a constructed language are considered. Objection is made to St. Clair's argument that word order…