Presents a systematic comparison of the function of voice alterations in three genetically unrelated languages--Biblical Hebrew, Chinese, and English. It is shown that passive or passivelike function can be divided into a number of discrete functional types, each of which is associated with a certain combination of translation equivalents in the…

Argues that both language-contact factors and typological evolution can effect changes in languages and language typology over time, and that it is not always easy to understand which factor has played a more prominent role in language change. Typological, areal, and socio-historical linguistics call for interdisciplinary cooperation. Examples are…

A discussion of areal linguistics and Amazonian languages looks at common properties of Amazonian languages, the occurrence, origins, and development of evidentiality systems in a number of those languages, and patterns of grammatical diffusion. Concludes that communities in the Amazonian linguistics area share common beliefs, mental attitudes,…

A study took features identified by specialists as typical for the Balkan and Meso-American linguistic areas and counted them for each relevant language. The resulting ranking of languages reflects the extent to which each language exemplifies the areal type, which was then plotted on isopleth maps. Both rankings and maps are useful in…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the existence of nonsubject binding of the so-called long distance anaphor in languages like Korean and Japanese and to give a principled account of why and when it happens. The Korean reflexive pronoun "caki" ('self') is bound by local and long-distance antecedents. Nonsubject binding occurs…

Different types of Persian impact on Irano-Turkic language varieties are surveyed and classified according to the Code-Copying model, which implies that copies of elements from foreign codes are inserted, globally or selectively, into a basic code that provides the morphosyntactic frame for the insertion. The study investigates under what…

The typological position of the Basque language is examined from an explicitly historical perspective, exploring the degree to which it has undergone typological assimilation into its Indo-European neighbors during the last 2,000 years. Phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon are considered. (MSE)

Investigation of how 19 adult males listened to and recognized unknown foreign languages (Farsi, Punjabi, Spanish, Indonesian, Arabic, Urdu) indicated that the untrained listeners made complex judgments in describing, transcribing, and identifying phonetic, segmental, suprasegmental, and other impressionistic language details. (Author/CB)

Investigation of native Chinese speakers' acquisition of French suprasegmental features found that the subjects not only perceived the different directions of pitch but also placed them in the right categories, in spite of the differences between the use of pitch in tonal and intonational languages. (34 references) (CB)

Analysis of the basic and alternative word order patterns of spoken and written modern Breton confirms it as a consistent VSO (verb, subject, object) language, possessing the principal operator/operand features posited for such languages, rather than having predominantly SVO word order as some recent research has suggested. However, as most…

Detailed analysis of frequencies of the primary auxiliary verb "be" in Scots dramatic texts leads to consideration of the typological relationship said to exist between different varieties of Scots and between them and standard English. (Author/CB)

A concise typology of Koine Greek relative clauses is presented, drawing on data from the Greek New Testament. The analysis begins by pointing out that Koine uses the strategy of relative pronouns in all relative clauses. The other ways in which relative pronouns are used, in addition to introducing the relative clause, are then described. The…

This paper examines the problem of whether tonal representation should be considered segmental or suprasegmental. Woo's hypothesis that tone features are to be specified segmentally is discussed as well as Leben's statement that in some languages tone is suprasegmental. The following are criteria suggested as a basis for tonal representation:…

Presents: (1) the basic facts of vowel-zero alternations and palatalization in Polish; (2) a nonlinear account of the vowel-zero alternations; (3) a reanalysis of palatalization facts in terms of morpholexical rules; and (4) speculations relating to learnability considerations and the nature of linguistic theory construction. (CB)

Papers on typology and dialects of the Romani language include: "Athematic Morphology in Romani: The Borrowing of a Borrowing Pattern" (Peter Bakker); "Towards a Morphology-Based Typology of Romani" (Viktor Elsik); "The Typology of Case Relations and Case Layer Distribution in Romani" (Yaron Matras); "Object…