Linguistic complexity serves as an important measure of second language (L2) writing development. Complexity indices, however, rarely feature in the studies of learner languages other than English. Additionally, L2 writing studies have been criticized for the lack of consistency in defining proficiency. The current study addresses these gaps by…

States the differences between the classes of structures that admit a progressive interpretation in English and Japanese and discusses progressive aspect in these two languages on the basis of proposed universally valid definitions. It is concluded that the contrastive behavior of the English "be-ing" construction and the Japanese…

Examines the distribution of clause types in ancient Greek during the Homeric (pre-800 B.C.) and Hellenistic (ca. 100 A.D.) periods, as well as an intermediate period (ca. 450 B.C.), delineating the evolution from a subject-object-verb (SOV) to a subject-verb-object (SVO) structure. (49 references) (MDM)

Attempts to use a construct of literary theory to solve a linguistic problem: the notion of narrative perspective to explain tense variation in Bulgarian narrative. The specific phenomenon of variation is between the past indefinite and the indirect tenses in passages where all the verb forms should be indirect. (24 references) (Author/CK)

Comparison of the cue usage of English/Dutch and Dutch/English bilinguals with varying amounts of second language exposure to that of native speaker control groups reveals that, with increasing exposure, cue usage in the second language gradually shifts from that appropriate to the first language to that appropriate for the second. (Author/CB)

A theory of the origin of the Chinese copula "shi," originally introduced into the language as a particle of affirmation, is presented. This theory also accounts for the contrastive and assertive use of the word when introduced into the language during the same period. (Author/CB)

Study of the probabilistic nature of processing strategies in Dutch/English bilinguals indicated that sentence interpretation in English generally paralleled that in Dutch, with divergence toward similarity in performance by English monolinguals. (Author/CB)

Evidence from a sample of informal written language (personal correspondence) shows that the most important constraints on pronoun usage in subject position are discourse-based. The quantitative analysis supports the hypothesis that pronoun usage is "functional" since semantically relevant information is preserved in surface structure.…

An analysis of the structure of possessive-adjective phrases (e.g., "women's new suitcases, new women's suitcases") in English looks at some data that appear to conflict with the intuitive order of S-structure possessives preceding adjectives. A solution to this apparent anomaly is proposed: it is not the compounding of possessive-noun…

The graphemic and functional distribution of Chinese punctuation markers are outlined, and the implications of Chinese punctuation practices for second language instruction are discussed. Three kinds of Chinese punctuation markers are described: those graphically unique to Chinese, those written and used in the same manner in both Chinese and…

This introduction to elementary Yoruba is divided into two parts. The first section is on sound drills, and the second section concerns Yoruba greetings. The first part includes exercises to enable the student to master the Yoruba sound system. Emphasis is on pronunciation and recognition of the sounds and tones, but not memorization. A tape is…

The workbook is designed for teaching Melanesian Pidgin English (Tokpisin) sentence structure to Peace Corps volunteers. It addresses sentence structures that are common to most languages, and uses listening, speaking, translation, and other grammar drills and exercises to reinforce learning. The approach used assumes that a native speaker is…

Papers on contrastive linguistics in this volume include: "Contrastive Discourse Analysis in Language Usage" (Juliane House); "Typology and Contrastive Analysis" (Vlasta Strakova); "On the Tenability of the Notion 'Pragmatic Equivalence' in Contrastive Analysis" (Karol Janicki); "On the Relevance of Phonetic,…

This grammar of Pashto was designed to accompany a set of beginning- and intermediate-level instructional materials for teaching the Pashto language to English speakers, but can be used separately as a reference by readers who are not learning the language. Introductory sections in English and Pashto describe the content and organization. The…

The purpose of this text is to develop conversational skills in Tamil. It is to be used as a review of what has been learned in class and not as a teaching device. The language materials consist of four types of language learning activities. The unit microwave cycle divides the learning process into two basic phases. The first phase involves…