Papers from the linguistics colloquium address a variety of topics in linguistic theory and language research, most in French. Topics include: objectivity and subjectivity in understanding language; focalization in conversational language; the notion of "popular etymology"; serial construction in Malagasy; linguistic competence (in German);…

This study investigated the earliest manifestations of verb tense and agreement in English-speaking children, using longitudinal data on the language of four children aged 1:6 to 3:5 years, drawn from a child-language database. Analysis focused on one aspect of inflectional phrase (IP), the children's use of the verbs "be" and "do" forms to mark…

Papers include: "Length and Structure Effects in Syntactic Processing"; Nantong Tone Sandhi and Tonal Feature Geometry"; "Event Reference and Property Theory"; "Function-Argument Structure, Category Raising and Bracketing Paradoxes"; "At the Phonetics-Phonology Interface: (Re)Syllabification and English Stop…

To gain an understanding of the development of the composing process, researchers observed, categorized, analyzed, and collected the writing of 10 Papago third and fourth graders in the Indian Oasis Public School District of Arizona over a period of two years. Of 30 children originally chosen to represent lower, middle, and upper development…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) syntax in the writing of learning disabled and normal children; (2) tropes, invention, and the composing process; (3) speaking and writing relationships in…

A study examined whether patterns exist in the kinds and amounts of writing errors students make and whether teachers follow any sort of pattern in correcting these errors. Sixty compositions, gathered from a twelfth grade class taught by one teacher, were analyzed using the "McGraw-Hill Handbook of English." Student written errors were…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) reasoning strategies used by gifted and average fifth grade children in written discourse; (2) the effect of mode of discourse on the syntactic complexity of…

The purpose of this study is to compare the English syntactic structures produced in spontaneous oral language and the receptive English syntactic and vocabulary skills of bilingual Spanish and Indian children and monolingual Anglo-Americans, all of whom qualify for Title I elementary schools (Grades 1-6). People in Action, the Northwestern Syntax…

The ability of children at different ages to distinguish instructions to "ask" from instructions to "tell" and the types of structures used to express these directives were studied. Subjects were 120 children, aged 2 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months. Children were instructed to either ask or tell an adult or another child to give them puzzle…

Two theoretical orientations-schema theory and cultural norms for the use of language unify this multidisciplinary collection of papers examining discourse. Chapters by Adams and Collins; Warren; Nicholas and Trabasso; Stein and Glenn; and Freedle and Hale highlight the application of schema theory to the study of story recall, reading, and the…

THIS PAPER WAS SUBMITTED TO THE BUREAU OF CURRICULUM RESEARCH OF THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR THEIR USE IN PREPARING A MANUAL FOR LANGUAGE ARTS SKILLS IN GRADES 5 TO 12. THE SUGGESTIONS HERE GREW OUT OF THE AUTHORS' ATTEMPTS "TO ISOLATE THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE VERNACULAR USED IN URBAN GHETTOS AND THE…

THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR LEARNING AND RE-EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN CONDUCTED AN EXPERIMENT IN THE SUMMER OF 1966 TO TEST AND IMPROVE ITS PROGRAMED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN STRUCTURAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR AND TO EXTEND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CERTAIN VARIABLES RELATED TO EFFICIENCY OF LEARNING CONCEPTS--THE IQ LEVELS…

Part of a study is presented of native speakers of Hebrew who are acquiring English without formal instruction. A Hebrew-speaking child, aged 5 years 6 months, and her American playmate were audiotaped bi-weekly in natural settings for 11 months. The American child periodically used "foreigner talk," that is, the variety of language…

This investigation examined the acquisition of five complex English syntactic structures by Egyptian and Israeli adult learners at different levels of proficiency. Carol Chomsky's methodology, as adapted by d'Anglejan and Tucker, served to assess comprehension of these structures. The responses of the Egyptians and Israelis, which were similar to…

A sample of 48 middle and lower class kindergarten and second grade students participated in a study to determine what speech adjustments school-age children made for listeners of different ages. Half the second grade subjects learned about two performance tasks--a board game and constructing columns of colored blocks--from the researcher, after…