Introducing a pioneering series of studies of family language policy and management, this paper points out that classic language policy dealt almost entirely with the nation-state, although it did recognise the critical role of the family in determining natural intergenerational transmission of a variety. After arguing for the need to look at each…

A "cognitivist" approach to cognition has traditionally dominated second language acquisition (SLA) studies. In this article, I examine two alternative approaches--"extended cognition" and "embodied cognition"--for how they might help us conceptualize SLA. More specifically, I present: (i) summaries of extended and embodied cognition, followed by…

We investigate the current position of English in the language ecology of Swedish academia, with a special focus on the humanities. Semi-structured interviews with 15 informants from the fields of Anthropology, General Linguistics and History were carried out to explore how non-native speakers of English experience using academic English in their…

Negation is a unique and fascinating property of human language which has been given extensive theoretical and typological treatment. One categorization divides negation use into metalinguistic negation and descriptive negation (Horn, 1985). Descriptive negation (DN) is the truth-functional semantic operator which has received the most attention…

Although many studies have suggested positive effects for speaking or output practice on L2 grammar development, the question of how speaking affects L2 grammar remains. This study specifically examines how output affects the explicit and implicit knowledge of Spanish indirect object pronouns (IOPs). It also investigates levels of L2 grammar…

Most works in cognitive semantics have been focusing on the manner, in which an individual behaves--be it the mind, brain, or even computers, which process various kinds of information. Among humans, in particular, social life is richly cultured. Sociality and culture are made possible by cognitive studies; they provide specific inputs to…

Japanese has a rich set of focus particles, several exclusive and additive particles, and, in addition, contrastive particles. This thesis provides a formal description of the meanings of Japanese focus particles and addresses two general questions: "What kinds concepts do Japanese focus particles express?" and "Why does Japanese have a larger…

When discussing focus particles, it has been common practice to rely on the dichotomy of inclusive vs. exclusive particles, "a la" Konig (1991). Inclusive focus particles are often further divided into scalar particles, such as "also", "too", and "either", and non-scalar particles, such as "even". In this thesis, I advance a comparative analysis…

In generative syntax, the theory of asymmetry in syntax has gained much attention due to the influential work of Kayne (1994), who adopts the null hypothesis that syntax is inherently asymmetric. However, such a direction does not seem fully compatible with the general assumptions in Galilean style scientific theories, all of which aspire to…

Previous research on finiteness has been dominated by the studies in tensed languages, e.g. English. Consequently, finiteness has been identified with tense. The traditional definition influences the morphological, semantic, and syntactic characterization of finiteness which has also been equated with tense and its realization. The present study…

Shimamori and Ito (2007, Syllable weight and phonological encoding in Japanese children who stutter. "Japanese Journal of Special Education", 44, 451-462; 2008, Syllable weight and frequency of stuttering: Comparison between children who stutter with and without a family history of stuttering. "Japanese Journal of Special Education", 45, 437-445;…

This article describes ways in which pragmatic language abilities may play a role in the writing performance of children and adolescents with language learning disabilities. First, a brief overview is presented of how pragmatic language difficulties might negatively influence writing performance. Next, research on the writing performance of…

Within the growing body of work that is sometimes labeled CA-for-SLA, there is a need for more research with longitudinal data. Hellermann and Cole (2009) provide a valuable contribution in this area. However, in doing so, they also make use of an exogenous theory of learning, situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger 1991), and its associated…

I outline the concept of "Language Hotspots", seeking to direct public and professional awareness of the global language extinction crisis. The loss of a single language leaves the science of linguistics impoverished and yet even few linguists realize that the vast majority of "language families" will likely be lost by the end…

Research has demonstrated that second language (L2) vocabulary learning improves when target words are presented in acoustically varied compared with acoustically consistent formats. The present study investigated the extent to which this benefit of acoustic variability is a consequence of difficult encoding demands (cognitive effort hypothesis)…