Active and passive sentences were presented with probable and improbable semantic content to 100 first graders and 100 kindergartners. "Irreversible" sentences were considered improbable. In a design employing syntax, probability, grade, and sex as factors, probability and syntax were found significant both as main effects and in their…

The author argues that a componential analysis of Russian case desinences is possible and useful, and that it consequently deserves a place in the linguistic analysis of Contemporary Standard Russian. The two basic assumptions of the author's theory are: first, that the meaning of cases reflects primarily the relation of substantives to the action…

Because of a lack of systematic structuring, much of the research pertaining to the variables influencing the reader's use of context as an aid to determining the meaning of textual units is limited in its applicability. Some of the major variables that have been found to influence the reader's use of context are constraints of textual segment,…

This paper analytically reviews the literature on cognitive development, particularly as it relates to the acquisition of language. Of primary concern are the basic cognitive processes of perceptual groupings, concepts and relations, and memory. Discussed are the acquisition of language, some aspects of the nature of language and language…

It has been generally understood that Japanese has two grammatical tenses, past and non-past. However, there are statements about future events which use the "past tense." Furthermore, for certain verbs, the "past tense" is not confined to describing strictly a past event. This paper seeks to clarify the meaning of tense in Japanese and to show…

Spontaneous full passives and related constructions from 234 children aged 2;0 to 13;11 and elicited passives from 262 college students were analyzed. Full passives were classified as reversible (The dog was chased by the girl), instrumental non-reversible (The lamp was broken by [or with] the ball), or agentive non-reversible (The lamp was broken…

In this article, syntactic evidence is presented to show that the two functions of place adverbials in Chinese cannot be reduced to one, and that both functions must be considered as semantic primes in the semantic structure of Chinese. (CLK)

Discusses the problem of the lack of native speakers to judge grammatical acceptability in analyzing a dead language such as Latin, and proposes an analysis on the level of linguistic performance. (AM)

This article shows what features of Chicano Spanish are seen by typical Latin Americans as being most unlike their own speech. (NCR)

In this study the inadequacies of rules governing the present perfect in isolated sentences are discussed and then two contextual factors thought to be connected with current relevance and the use of the present perfect are described. These factors are experimentally shown to influence use of the present perfect significantly. (CHK)

A study of some reformulations in linguistic theory which have been brought about by a shift from generative to casual grammar. An attempt is made to integrate these transformations into one of the current sociolinguistic currents: the elaboration of a theory of speech production. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Examines the range of conditional sentences which appear in English in contrast to the restricted selection of conditionals usually presented to foreign students. Sample exercises for identifying types of conditionals and determining appropriate conditional structures are provided. (Author/LMO)

Discusses the subtle changes of meaning evoked by different sentence positions of "hace"-clauses. Analyzes the semantics of "hace" + TIME sentences which are the equivalent of English "ago." A presentation suitable for the beginning learner, using "since" + TIME as the English translation of the "hace"-clause followed by "que" is suggested.…

Applies general pragmatic principles to interpretations of noun phrase gaps. Argues that this approach reduces or eliminates the need for a grammatical explanation for anaphora, such as the one provided by Government and Binding theory. Examples are given from Guugu Yimidhirr, an Australian aboriginal language, and English. (Author/LMO)