Examines the use of clitic pronouns by incipient bilingual Spanish-speaking 4- and 5-year-old children with and without language impairments (SLI). Participants included 10 children with specific language impairment and 10 children with typical language development. Children with SLI used clitic pronouns less frequently than their age-matched…

Focuses on the language situation in Luxembourg, examining the interference between Letzeburgesch on one hand and, French German, and English on the other. Bourdieu's concept of legitimate language is modified to match the situation in Luxembourg of "triglossia with trilinguaism" and the legitimate multilingual language competence, which…

The meaning of Hispanic words often varies from country to country. To assist business travelers in Spain and Latin America, a lexicon is provided that details the various office-supply terms used in a variety of Spanish-speaking countries. The lexicon is based on interviews with over 200 Hispanic informants. (JL)

Notes that, although linguistics has had little influence on composition pedagogy, the study of functional grammar or linguistic performance (how language is actually used) is of direct value to composition theory. Offers an extended discussion of a functional approach to punctuation instruction, and proposes a functional approach in other areas…

Surveys children's information books. Finds that the language of the books is very diverse. Suggests that readers experience diversity of language from a very early age and that such books fall well short of any standard that is desirable of informative texts. (RS)

Replies to Joseph Harris' critique of James Britton's conception of "spectator role" (English Education; v20 n1). (MS)

Reviews several studies which suggest that some second-language (L2) learners stumble into rogue or "wild" grammars on the road to the L2. L2 learners who have subcategorization knowledge of verbs for their prepositions often omit those same prepositions in relative clauses and questions requiring pied-piping or preposition stranding.…

Attempts to formulate an appropriate linguistic generalization for the occurrence of inhibited periodic eyeblinking by fluent American Sign Language (ASL) signers. It is shown that signers' eyeblinks are sensitive to syntactic structure, from which intonational phrases may be derived. (19 references) (MDM)

Examines the history of numerous mutually contradictory meanings of the term enthymeme in classical and contemporary authors in order to demonstrate that rhetorical terms are not immutable entities with fixed meanings but rather methods by which a culture analyzes its own discursive practices. Argues that rhetorical terms must be seen as…

Critiques the previous article by Torigoe and others (1995) and discusses research on indigenous gestural systems developed by people with deafness and shared with local hearing communities. Poses questions for further research in the field of indigenous gestural communication. (Seven references) (MDM)

Examined how speakers of languages with zero pronouns (Japanese) and without them (English) use zero pronouns when acquiring a second language (L2) that has them (Mandarin Chinese). The findings show that L2 learners do not use zero pronouns as often as native speakers and that their use increases with proficiency. (51 references) (MDM)

Examines self-help medical literature in 19th-century Canada. Shows that while authors repeatedly called for "plain" language in contrast to mysterious terminology employed by medical practitioners, comparison of their style with that of medical textbook authors reveals few real differences. Concludes that the posture adopted by Canadian…

Endangered languages, or languages on the verge of becoming extinct, are discussed in relation to the larger process of loss of cultural and intellectual diversity. This article summarizes essays presented at the 1991 Linguistic Society of America symposium, "Endangered Languages and Their Preservation." (11 references) (LB)

The 1980 and 1990 volumes of "The State of the Language," edited by Michaels and Ricks, are reviewed, including the selection of topics and contributors. (two references) (LB)

The articles in this special journal issue on hypercorrection are reviewed and related to accommodation theory. A heuristic model is presented that places hypercorrection in a theoretical framework designed to explore its antecedents and consequences in a variety of settings. Directions for future research are also suggested. (30 references) (LB)