This paper aims at highlighting the syntactic and semantic variation of the Swedish verb "lata" "let" from both a synchronic and diachronic point of view. On the basis of corpus data containing Old and Modern Swedish texts from the 13th to the 19th centuries, the syntactic and semantic development of the verb is investigated within the framework…

In this paper a case of synchronic layering is examined in which Dutch "massa" ("mass") and plural "massa's" ("masses") are attested with lexical uses as a collective noun, quantifying uses ("a large quantity of") and intensifying uses ("very")--with plural "massa's" only--in some Flemish varieties of Dutch. Against the background of…

In revisiting Bolozky's [Bolozky, Shmuel, 1979. "On the new imperative in colloquial Hebrew." "Hebrew Annual Review" 3, 17-24] and Bat-El's [Bat-El, Outi, 2002. "True truncation in colloquial Hebrew imperatives." "Language" 78(4), 651-683] analyses of colloquial Hebrew imperatives, the article argues for restricting Imperative Truncation to the…

This is an expanded version of a paper given at a conference held in Cape Town, South Africa from December 11-13, 2008 entitled "The Native Speaker and the Mother Tongue." In keeping with the conference's themes of exploring and interrogating the notions of "mother tongue" and "native speaker," I consider…

Intensification is a means of indexing the speakers' perspective. This paper attempts to show the semantic development of particular intensifiers following Langacker's framework of subjectivity. In this framework, the focus lies on the way the conceptualizer construes an event or a situation as an observer or as an experiencer with degrees of…

The present study is an attempt to account for current changes taking place in the behaviour of what are commonly taken to be stress-neutral endings in contemporary British English. The methodological framework being that of Lionel Guierre, this study aims for comprehensive coverage, via a survey of Guierre's original database (which was initially…

Discusses Saussures's "Cours de linguistique generale," which was published in 1916, and devotes specific attention to the significance of Part VI, which is devoted to linguistic geography. (16 references) (Author/VWL)

Aims to find the extent to which subject clitic "nous" and 4th person verbs in French are used in a corpus of informal spoken language and to identify factors that may account for the productive use of nous +4p verb. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the matter of Northern Fronting of eME /o/ in Lincolnshire, giving the medieval spelling evidence and the residual modern phonological evidence for the development in parts of the country. Considers the merger of ME /u/ and /o/ at /u/ in modern North Lincolnshire and argues that this situation is the result of lexical diffusion.…

Examines linguistic criteria that have been adduced on the Middle French period and concludes that there is no real discontinuity that serves to define Middle French. Suggests that the value of Middle French may be typological rather than temporal--specifically that it defines a variety of French that broadly conforms to the Romance…

Discusses the nature of the difference between dialectology and sociolinguistics and suggests that the findings of dialectology are relevant for use by sociolinguists. (30 references) (CK)

Examines the concept of indigenized Englishes and compares them with pidgins and creoles, focusing on attitudes about indigenized English, creative aspects of indigenized English, substratum influences, and universals. (Author/CB)

Presents theoretical models of how language acts (1) as a dependent variable of how people subjectively construe situations and (2) as an independent variable creatively defining and redefining situations for those involved. Discusses the importance of developing an interdisciplinary model of language variation in its social context. (EKN)

Examines current theories of language change, and proposes the theory that language change can be observed and captured while in progress, and that language change can be considered a manifestation of human change in general. (AM)

Reports the results of interviews conducted in Sapporo, Japan, an area undergoing rapid urbanization. The study sought to determine the effect of urbanization on degree of intensity of interaction with neighbors, and on the use of honorifics. (Author/AM)