This dissertation represents the first attempt to integrate typological, semantic, and psycholinguistic perspectives to elucidate a semantically "bizarre" and "illogical" phenomenon called "expletive negation" (henceforth, EN) which is well known in Romance languages but has so far attracted little attention outside…

This paper compares the initial state of second language (L2) and third language (L3) acquisition for English articles to examine the influence of L2 proficiency on positive transfer from L2 to L3. We tested 36 L1 Turkish/L2 German adolescent learners of L3 English (L3 group), 41 L1 Turkish adolescent learners of L2 English (L2 group), and 10…

According to the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English 1999 by Biber et al. (p. 266) generic article uses are more than twice as common in academic English than in conversation or fiction. This is an area that English for Academic Purpose (EPA) textbooks and teachers would need to target more than general English teaching. This paper is…

Most of the ordinary words in a language do not mean; rather, they act as rigid designators, referring to the same object in all possible words in which the object exists. Most words are names that are used as rigid designators of kinds--natural kinds (species, genre, and so forth), artifacts, physical and social magnitudes, and sorts of…

This book is an introduction to linguistics, written for the beginning student. Among the topics explored are speculations about the origins of language, its nature, how it grows, and how it changes. Other topics include what is essential in the structure of language, the similarities and differences among languages, how the varying patterns of…

The problems of measurement and type-formation are discussed in the light of two approaches toward systems of linguistic objects. First, they are discussed as gestalt systems; second, they are discussed in the light of systems of general type viewed as sets of collections of arbitrary distinctive features. (Author/RM)

This issue is devoted to language universals and consists of 4 papers. "Zulu Nominal Modification - An Outline," by A. Johnston, discusses modifiers in Zulu and their relation to nominals. "Shape Classifiers and Natural Categories," by S.G. Pulman, discusses the role of the dimension of "shape" in language…

This paper examines the semantic structure of antonyms on the basis of some examples taken from Romanian. Both grammatical and lexical antonyms are considered with a view toward grasping the correspondence and differences between the two classes. Representative examples illustrate the following conclusions: (1) the distinction between lexical and…

The basis for understanding the origin, development, and behavior of language is presented in this introduction to linguistic science. Aspects of language that link linguistics to anthropology, social studies, and mathematics are examined. Major emphasis is on phonetics and phonemics, historical considerations, vocabulary, and semantic change.…