This study examines one analysis of Somali clause structure and syntactic typology, characterized as a radical departure, and finds in it considerable grammatical insight but also some problems. Another analysis is presented that retains both the advantages of the conventional view of the Somali sentence and the structural insights of the new…

In this volume, five working papers are presented. "Accessing Contexts with Intonation" (Thorstein Fretheim) discusses the use of intonation as a tool for understanding the context of an utterance, particularly in combination with reference. Examples are offered in Norwegian. In "'Altsa' and 'Nemlig': Two Views of Causality"…

An analysis of the compound verb system of Persian marks constructions euphemistically by producing an indirect order effect and by alternating different compound and simple forms that bear the same denotation but are governed by a rigorous code of ethics. What really carries the semantic reference in these cases is the process of construing…

This curriculum guide, designed for use with secondary migrant students, contains activities in the reading areas of structural analysis, literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, vocabulary, and reading in the content areas. Within these four broad areas, activities are presented in the following specific skill areas: (1) hearing…

The morphological function of tone/accent is examined in a number of Cushitic languages, with the objective of determining whether any comparative statement can be made validly at the group level. Three languages, the Somali dialect cluster, Afar, and Oromo, are the basis for the study. Patterns in case, gender, and the jussive form are analyzed.…

Although television is highly dependent on language and semiotic analysis, its form can best be analyzed through the structural notion of transformation. The critic's task becomes the articulation of structural laws intrinsic to television. One such law has to do with how television structures time. Television programming transforms action into…

Semantic noun classes in Emai, an Edoid language of Nigeria, are examined with respect to a process of Reference Point Marking (RPM) in order to explore the relationship between discourse and lexical semantics. Across pre- and post-verbal positions subcategorized by verbs like "rere" ("to be far"), these classes are shown to…

A study of the relationships between Chinese dialects based on a quantitative measure of dialect affinity is summarized. First, tone values in all the dialect localities available in the early 1970s were used to calculate the dialectal differences in terms of tone height with respect to the "yin and yang" split. In the late 1970s, calculations of…

It is proposed that LF-movement in in-situ questions is not adequate to express the scope distinctions basic to the semantic interpretations of the direct and indirect question dichotomy in Marathi and Kashmiri, because this question type is more constrained in these languages than in languages like Chinese and Japanese. This theory is illustrated…

The CapeVerdean Language Project's final report presents a phonemic analysis of the Capeverdean language, a derivation of Portuguese traditionally considered a dialect. The project's research is based on the assumption that Capeverdean is a language with its own dialects, and the research was intended to determine an autonomous phonemic…

This issue of the journal includes these papers on contrastive linguistics: "A Question of Imperatives" (Tom Wachtel); "Contrastive Sociolinguistics--Some Methodological Considerations" (Karol Janicki); "How to Describe Phonological Variation" (Thomas Herok, Livia Tonelli); "Towards a Contrastive Pragmalinguistics" (Philip Riley); "The Perception…

The papers collected here concern the interfaces between various components of grammar (semantics, syntax, morphology, and phonology) and between grammar itself and various extragrammatical domains. They include: "The OSU Random, Unorganized Collection of Speech Act Examples"; "In and Out in Phonology"; "Forestress and…

A study at a small southwestern suburban school examined specific process variables which occurred as children were taught composition skills using word processing, word processing with voice synthesis, and no word processing. Subjects were 45 second grade students, who were divided into three groups on the basis of scores on a reading…

A discussion of Italian comparatives of inequality examines the use of "che" and "di" in introducing the comparison. It begins by looking at and discounting the semantic explanation for the different structures and then outlines the comparative rules for use of "che" and "di." It examines regular and…

A discussion of constraints on ellipsis after auxiliaries in English focuses on a particular analytic problem concerning nonfinite verb phrases using "be", which has a historical dimension. A solution involving the morphological claim about the copula and its incorporation of tense-distinctions is proposed and discussed in the context of…