Discusses the semantic differences between the near-synonyms "detenteur" and "titulaire" in French, and provides a list of terms correctly used with the two words and the additional near-synonym "porteur." (AM)

Considers the various meanings and uses of the Russian particle "khot'." The article adapts material from "Particles in Colloquial Russian" (Progress Publishers, Moscow) by A.N. Vasilyeva. (Text is in German.) (FB)

Offers middle and secondary teachers a conceptual framework to guide their explorations into language with their students. Notes that many methods have risen and fallen. Concludes that, if students learn to generalize about language, they will be more successful in their usage of rules. (RS)

Argues that the ongoing debate about grammatical instruction in schools is a product of a reductivist, reactionary ideology that mistakes mechanics for grammar and proceeds from a deficit model, constantly punishing students for their lack of "grammatical" precision and general ignorance in matters of construction. Suggests that grammar…

Spoofs grammar instruction using characters from William Faulkner's novel "As I Lay Dying." (RS)

Provides a whimsical look at issues of language and grammar usage. (RS)

Discusses the vocabulary of English punctuation terms, largely unchanged since the Norman conquest in 1066. Discusses the meaning of the period, colon, comma, question mark, exclamation point, slash, parenthesis, brackets, asterisk, hyphen, and ampersand. (RS)

Points out that formalization of cognitive grammar is difficult to achieve within the present formulation of the grammar. Introduces a modification that will allow modeling the process of similarity. Suggests using analogical modeling. Indicates some consequences of the proposition for the practice of communication. (PA)

Discusses what appear to be deliberate attempts to avoid sexism in the new Collins Cobuild Dictionary, but shows how easily the choice of examples can portray women in a negative light. The question arises whether lexicographers can select more neutral illustrations of women without being untrue to lexographic art. (Author/VWL)

Argues that academia, which should both teach and model the clear, effective use of language, is one of the worst offenders in its pervasive use of doublespeak. Offers numerous examples from campuses across the country. (SR)

Examines "Grammaticalization" (P. J. Hopper and E. C. Traugott), a linguistics textbook that focuses on the establishment of grammaticalization as both a process and a topic. Argues that the significance of the work is that it offers a genuine attempt to explain linguistic change in terms of a realistic conception of what is actually…

Recapitulates questions and reports on the answers raised in a series of articles on language problems. The article concludes by setting some new problems for readers' consideration. (JL)

This paper defines the South-East (SE) region, one of the lexical usage regions of Australian English. This region covers Victoria, part of South Australia, and the Riverina area of New South Wales. Extensive data is provided in maps of the continent. (Contains three references.) (JL)

Discusses three causes of redundancy in writing: lack of revision, attempts at precision, and conceptual confusion. (SR)

Presents an analysis of the verb "get," which is portrayed as having different shades of meaning that stand in a noncomplex, semantically motivated relation to each other. The intended result is an explanation of the various uses of "get." (36 references) (JL)