A comparison of the difficulty in underlying structure of basal reading texts with the difficulty in surface structure raises questions on the validity of the Fry Readability Formula and other traditional readability formulas. (CJ)

Minor grammatical errors made by German students in translating from English to German led to an investigation of the means available in the two languages for effecting text-coherence. The examples cited indicate that English has fewer possibilities than German for showing sentence perspective through surface-syntactical markers. (IFS/WGA)

Studies, using Mandarin Chinese as a test case: (1) the interaction of syntax and semantics when quantifiers and negatives co-occur; (2) the linear interpretation of quantifiers when the universal and existential quantifiers co-occur; (3) the logical relationship between them; and (4) the basic word order of existential sentences involving…

Examines the relationship of "ne" and its accompanying particles ("pas,""plus,""jamais,""personne," etc.) in the French negation system, with special reference to subject opacity. (AM)

Two experiments and two questionnaire studies investigated the processing of sluiced sentences among college student participants. Results show that, because the interpretation of a sluiced constituent takes place at the representational level of logical form (LF), implicit arguments are not made explicit at LF, but focus is important in the…

Discusses two causes of what is considered here the inadequacy of generative grammars. (RM)

Points out certain difficulties in recent proposals arguing for archi-phonemes in underlying representations. (Author/RM)

This paper concerns the theory of systemic grammar developed by Halliday, Hudson and others. It suggests modifications of Hudson's generative version, and the model presented resembles transformational grammar. (CHK)

Quantifiers are discussed and evidence presented for their existential character in some cases. Their relation to surface and underlying structure is discussed. (RM)

Focuses on behavior of Russian stems with regard to vowel/zero alternations. Explanations are in terms of surface manifestations, and reservations about generative grammar are expressed. (RM)

The article shows that Russian syntax and word formation should receive more attention in language instruction, and suggests a functional approach as opposed to a taxonomic presentation in teaching syntax. Examples are given to show that the facts of underlying syntactic relationships should be incorporated into a teaching grammar. (CLK)

It is argued that too much attention to deep structure has led to neglect of surface realizations. Case relations and case forms are studied as well as the relationships between the two. (Text is in French.) (AM)

Examines several subtypes of the verbal sequency NP-VP1-VP2 in Chinese, especially those involving descriptions of human action, directed motion, and instrumental functions, and finds that these could be subsumed under the heading of "purposive clauses." The VP1 states an action whose goal is fulfilled by the action performed in VP2. (Author/RM)

This report describes part of a longer study on sentence comprehension. The long range goal is to identify distinct levels of processing in terms of the types of linguistic and extralinguistic information each level uses. The focus of this part of the study is sentences with filler-gap relations, such as, "This is the girl the teacher wanted to…