Reports on a study of the native lexicon of two genetically unrelated languages: Kambera and Dutch. Focuses on the expressive elements. (Author/VWL)

Examines the syntactic and semantic relationship between verb forms I and II in modern standard Arabic. The main function of form II verbs was causative/factitive, with the core elements of the causative including (1) agent-subject, (2) action-process verb, and (3) patient-object. (CB)

A pilot study attempting to determine the feasibility and value of a cognition-based study of classifiers in Chinese demonstrated that the use of the classifier "tiao" was not an arbitrary linguistic device of categorization, but represented some type of human categorization based on an imputed salient perceptual property of extension of…

Tests earlier claims about the universality of patterns of polysemy and semantic extension in the domain of perception verbs. Utilizing data from a broad range of Australian languages, two hypothesized universals are addressed: Viberg's (1994) proposed unidirectional pattern of extension from higher to lower sensory modalities and Sweeter's (1990)…

This analysis of repeated utterances in Japanese conversational discourse focuses on repetition as an expression of iconicity. In the analysis of a 30-minute conversation among 4 Japanese speakers, the iconic meanings expressed by both reduplication and conversational repetition are highlighted. The iconicity characteristic of conversational data…

In both French and Macedonian there are constructions that are reminiscent of the passive but their meaning is active. In French this occurs with participial statements that appear to have either an instrumental relationship or be a chronological marker (e.g., "le dejeuner fini,..."). In Macedonian, one only adds a marker showing…

The extent to which Basque displays ergative characteristics (an ergative language treats the underlying subject of intransitive clauses alike in some manner and differently from the underlying subject of transitive clauses) in its syntax is examined. The amount of evidence needed to conclude that Basque or any other language is ergative is…

Addresses complicated categories of loanwords and their uses in Japanese, an analysis of the developing functions of loanwords; the cultural attitudes that permit borrowings in some semantic areas; and how the present process of borrowing English words has similarities to the borrowing of Chinese language and culture some 1400 years ago.…

Analyzed the argument linking of the commercial transaction frame in English, Russian, and Japanese. The commercial transaction frame is semantically complex, because there are two transfers in opposite directions (money goes from buyer to seller and goods from seller to buyer). English and Russian construe the commercial frame in essentially the…

This word list is designed for students of Yup'ik Eskimo to assist them in choosing the appropriate word when there are several Yup'ik words that correspond to a single English word. This alphabetical list contains 77 English words that might cause confusion, and includes simple examples of usage to clarify the meanings of the various…

A discussion of the animacy hierarchy in human discourse looks at the role of the hierarchy in three Western Austronesian languages: Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, and Rejang. Animacy corresponds to the degree of agency an entity has with a transitive verb as contrasted with the degree to which that entity may be the patient of a transitive verb. The…

Analysis of data from Kekchi, a head-marking language following Mayan patterns, can provide insight into case relations and pronominal reference in head-marking languages. Tensed verb constructions are examined, focusing attention on how the verb stem can determine both the number of referents and their semantic roles. The language's predication…

A study of the noun incorporation phenomenon in Korean suggests that noun incorporation occurs at D-structure and obeys the Head Movement Constraint syntactically, and the Theme-Only Constraint semantically. First, the structure of "sunrise"-type words is identified, showing that before derivation through nominalization of the affix "-i,"…

Patterns in the Greek language that have endured over 3000 years, reflecting patterns in Greek thought and civilization, are examined. Phonology and grammatical constructions are emphasized. (MSE)

A discussion of aspectual morphemes in Mandarin Chinese broadens the perspective on aspect to examine its grammar, or the relationship between aspectual and non-aspectual elements, between different aspectual elements, and between the related categories of tense, aspect, and modality. Previous assumptions about Mandarin aspectual markers are…