This paper considers Spanish adjectives and the possibility of converting some adjectives into adverbs, keeping the same general significance of a sentence. The conversion of an adjective into an adverb under these circumstances can be accomplished through a transformation which can be applied to a particular logical-semantic structure. The author…

This collection of articles written over a period of 10 years concerning the transformational syntax of English has been divided into six sections. The articles in the first section provide background material for the reader with no specialized linguistic preparation. They present the fundamental questions that linguists are now asking, some of…

This study, contrasting grammatical structures in English and Hungarian, considers those areas of grammar in the two languages which would cause the greatest interference for the native English speaker learning Hungarian. The choice of topics is based on the author's personal observation, both of English speakers learning Hungarian and of…

Examines the idea of a mismatch between grammaticality and acceptability. Evidence is used to refute the claim that ungrammatical but acceptable sentences are theoretically plausible in the case of the sentence, "A not unhappy person entered the room." (AMH)

Presents a fully incremental model that accounts for attachment preferences by the linear order of lexical heads in the surface structure and their thematic properties. Discusses the principle of "parameterised head attachment" and a serial variant on the basis of three online experiments on noun phrase and prepositional phrase…

The pragmatic function of conveying given and new information is one of the most important universal communicative functions that language serves. This study investigates how Mandarin-speaking children and adults utilize surface cues of word order, marked grammatical structure, and emphatic stress to determine whether information is given or new…

This guide is designed to help college-level teachers of English as a Second Language address the particular linguistic characteristics and instructional needs of native Chinese-speaking students. The first chapter profiles four Chinese students at the City College of New York, focusing on their basic literacy in Chinese, immigration issues,…

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…

Compositions in the narrative and argumentative modes of discourse were collected from 240 students (40 boys and 40 girls each from grades 6, 10, and 12) and analyzed for mean T-unit length to determine any differences in syntactic complexity across modes of discourse or grade levels. At each grade level, T-unit length was significantly greater in…

This study compared a grammar program using a linguistic approach with one using a traditional approach to determine how each affects children's ability (1) to construct sentences which have variety in structure, and (2) to comprehend silent reading. Five experimental and five control classes of fourth-grade children were randomly selected from…

This guide is intended to familiarize Americans with the basic structure of Hmong sentences and with words or phrases that may be useful with Hmong refugees. Hmong is represented in the Romanized Popular Alphabet. Following a general discussion of pronunciation and tone in Hmong, the structure of basic, compound, and complex sentences is…

The hypothesized ability of adult native speakers to understand linguistic ambiguity was tested. An approach developed to determine linguistic competence tested the ability of 90 participants in individual interviews to interpret sentences having the potential for multiple interpretations. The hypothesis was not supported by the data. A hierarchy…

Thirty informants were presented with sets of clauses punctuated as in the pattern "S1. If S2. S3" and asked which clause, S1 or S3, the "if" clause modified. Independently, several linguists judged the sentences "S1, if S2" and "S2, if S3" acceptable. Missing intonational clues or improper punctuation,…

Teachers are urged to improve their teaching through the effective use of pattern drills by examining the construction and function of the drills. Forty-eight questions with answers elaborate upon generalities and technicalities of drill design and their classroom use. (RL)

This grammar presents a comprehensive, structural treatment of Russian. Intended primarily for students of Russian and Slavistics as a textbook or manual for use in a course on Russian linguistic structure, it also serves as a reference grammar based on the principles of structural linguistics. The three major sections consider the sound system,…