This article reports on the first results of a large-scale research programme that aims to define and circumscribe the construct of phraseological complexity and to theoretically and empirically demonstrate its relevance for second language theory. Within this broad agenda, the study has two main objectives. First, it investigates to what extent…

Discusses the current approaches to interlanguage syntax, focusing on the goal of finding consistency and pattern in syntactic variation. Some themes contributing to descriptive approaches include: the transition from morphosyntax acquisition studies to those of more complex syntax, the emergence of syntax from discourse, explicitness, and the…

Describes a linguistic analysis computational system that responds to highly complex queries about morphosyntactic and semantic structures contained in large sets of language acquisition data by identifying, displaying, and analyzing sentences that meet the defined linguistic criteria. (30 references) (Author/CB)

Lexical semantics and contrastive lexical semantics can serve as a background discipline to describe and, to some extent, to explain errors in interlanguage. Two developments in lexical semantics that are relevant in this area are the description of sense-relationships and componential analysis. Contrastive lexical semantics involves mapping the…

A discussion of the field of contrastive linguistics (CL) begins by defining the relationship between theoretical and applied CL in terms of the concept of finalization, which originated in the philosophy of science. Then, the historical development of CL in the United States and Europe is sketched. This development is seen as characterized by a…

Reports the results of an analysis of conversations among bilingual adults designed to determine the nature of code switching. Categories for the analysis are proposed, syntactic constraints on code switching are discussed, and code switching as a conversational strategy is considered. (24 references) (CFM)

The validity of 2 implicational universals regarding constituent order in questions is tested in the English speech of 14 native speakers of Japanese, Turkish, and Korean. The interlanguage evidence is found to be generally supportive of the 2 universals. (31 references). (Author/VWL)

This issue of the journal includes these papers on contrastive linguistics: "A Question of Imperatives" (Tom Wachtel); "Contrastive Sociolinguistics--Some Methodological Considerations" (Karol Janicki); "How to Describe Phonological Variation" (Thomas Herok, Livia Tonelli); "Towards a Contrastive Pragmalinguistics" (Philip Riley); "The Perception…

This issue of the journal includes these papers on contrastive linguistics: "Contrastive Patholinguistics: The Acquisition of English Grammatical Morphemes by German Dyslexics in a Foreign-Language Teaching Context" (Udo O. H. Jung); "Contrastive Pragmatics" (Marie-Louise Liebe-Harkort); "On Questions in English and Swedish" (Kay Wikberg); "On…

A study is described which (1) focuses on the syllable structure of the interlanguage in an attempt to determine how it differs from the syllable structure of the target language, and which (2) begins to identify some of the processes which may shape that interlanguage syllable structure. (Author)

Part of a 20-year Yugoslav Serbocroatian-English Contrastive Project, this study is intended to make students, teachers, textbook writers, and scholars aware of elements in the system of English modals that might cause difficulties to the native Serbocroatian-speaking learner of English. An eclectic method of contrastive analysis consisting of…

This paper reports on a pilot study examining how Chinese-speaking learners of English reset the non-empty topic [-Te] parameter. Whereas Chinese allows empty topics coindexed with variables in both subject and object positions, English does not. With respect to this particular parameter, Chinese can be said to form a superset of English as the…

The series of articles in this volume were selected from among those presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning in April 1994. Articles include: "The Right Tool for the Job: Techniques for Analysis of Natural Language Use" (Georgia M. Green); "Sinclair & Coulthard Revisited: Global-…