This collection contains five papers on discourse in a variety of languages. "A Stratificational Perspective on the Discourse Structure of Limos Kalinga" by Hartmut Wiens demonstrates the value of the stratificational model in looking at language in relatively small portions at various levels while also showing how its structural aspects…

Some of the difficulties faced by second language learners who are continuing to acquire English at the same time as they start to read simple extended English texts are illustrated. Specific focus is on the question of how writers of early reading material can best help such learners to understand the relationship between spoken and written…

Evidence is presented that suggests a genetic relationship between the Klamath and Sahaptian languages. The current list of potential Klamath-Sahaptian cognates contains core lexical material sufficient to demonstrate the validity of a genetic relationship, although many details of sound correspondence have yet to be worked out. But it is not only…

An analysis of the phonological phenomenon of "isinkalakahliso" or palatalization in Xhosa, a Bantu language, is presented, focusing on its occurrence in the passive form of verbs. First, earlier theories about the phenomenon are discussed and compared, and a new analysis is offered. It is concluded that this conceptualization of…

In a study of English auxiliary verb usage, it is proposed that this category of verbs share a characteristic that explains some idiosyncracies: they do not show morphosyntactic inflectional irregularities. According to this account, the relationship between auxiliaries and full verbs is distant, and the morphosyntactic categories that auxiliaries…

All language teachers, even those committed to teaching language in context, must occasionally provide examples of grammatical or syntactic structures. When searching for effective examples, teachers can evaluate them by asking the following questions: (1) Considering the context and content, is the use of the target structure appropriate?; (2)…

The author of the "Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language" responds to two areas of criticism of the textbook: its size and its intended audience. These aspects and the general construction of the book are discussed in relation to the information needs of the foreign language learner and in comparison with the information…

A study examines evidence concerning whether Amazonian languages have moved historically from earlier ergative-absolutive systems to nominative-accusative or mixed systems, or whether the change has been in the other direction. The main focus is on the Cariban language family. After a review of relevant literature, data from three of these…

A study investigated the order of acquisition of inflectional morphology in English within morphemes, focusing on late acquisition of one allomorph of the plural. It is proposed that late acquisition is rooted in the operation of the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP), which states that at the melodic level, adjacent identical elements are…

A model of the child's learning of the past tense forms of English verbs is discussed. This connectionist model takes as input a present-tense verb and provides as output a past tense form. A new simulation is applied to 13 problems raised by critics of the model, presented as fundamental flaws in the conceptualizations underlying connectionism.…

The nature of semantic roles and grammatical relations are explored from the perspective of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). It is proposed that unraveling the relational aspects of grammar involves the recognition that semantic roles fall into two types, thematic relations and macroroles, and that grammatical relations are not universal and are…

The purpose of this document is to provide teachers with a uniform guide and uniform standards for writing skills, and with general style principles which will provide for an easy flow of student skill development in grades one through six. Included under the major heading of General Skills are: Ten Steps to Better Writing; The Proper Heading;…

An approach to teaching grammar through the use of speaking and listening activities is presented in this brief article. AUTHOR'S COMMENT (excerpt): Why practice the language simply by completing worksheets or exercises in the grammar book? There are various ways to teach language through speaking and listening exercises. These are several…

Designed to provide a criterion referenced measurement of CVC (consonant vowel consonant) word patterns, this test consists of six subtests of 152 items prepared as slides for projection. Items are to be presented to the subjects on two separate occasions. (This document is one of those reviewed in The Research Instruments Project (TRIP) monograph…

Three short articles provide tape recording instructions for braille transcribers and teachers of the visually handicapped, for transcribing instructional materials. The first article gives guidelines for transcribing special formats such as typing books. The second article tells how to give verbal instructions for diagraming sentences and other…