Reflections on Tobin's "Semiotics and Linguistics" and Shaumyan's "Semiotic Theory of Language" are offered. (23 references) (LB)

Selected neurobiological terminology is clarified in this paper, which also highlights neurobiological information relevant to language acquisition research, discusses the neural plausibility of cognitive models of language acquisition, and illustrates the difference between abstract characterizations of learner behavior and mechanisms that cause…

Provides critical analysis of Edwards (1992) presentation of a set of examples from the Child Language Data Exchange System as prototypes of bad transcription practice. The analysis argues that Edward's approach causes the development of an overly rigid set of principles that could stop progress in the analysis of spontaneous language samples.…

Reviews a wide-ranging formal analysis of Chinese syntax that explores the role of case theory in the phrase structure of Chinese. (15 references) (CB)

Investigates the extent of variation in children's language performance in a picture description task arising from mode (oral or written) versus degree of demand for decontextualization. Finds that children manipulated the wide range of the oral form of the contextualized/decontextualized continuum more skillfully than the written form. Finds no…

A study of utterances marked by exemplification particles ("par exemple, disons") in Montreal oral French attempted to describe constraints governing choice of discourse variant. Variables examined include position of particle in the utterance, extendibility and reality of the example, order of constituent elements in argumentation, and…

Outlines descriptive, theoretical, and methodological advances in child language research since the first volume of the "Journal of Child Language" was published. Papers in this volume build on earlier research, point the way to new research avenues, and open new lines of inquiry. (Contains 36 references.) (JP)

Presents an interpretive theory assigning all text to "Linguistic Worlds" (LWs). Shows how a special deictic LW (needed for default attribution to the speaker and useful for describing parentheticals, evaluative adjectives, and epitheticals) gives the capacity to characterize shifts in point of view accompanying the indirect first-person speech of…

The evolution of the Latin "teneo venio" to the Spanish "tengo vengo" is analyzed, including Menendez Pidal's influential treatment of the problem and some recent explanations. The hypothesis that loss of flexional yod was the fundamental cause of analogical structuring is reviewed, and a new hypothesis is proposed. (Contains 30 references.)…

Examines public speaking (PS) practices within the Osage Nation. Settings for formal occasions of PS and PS within the context of speech act, event, and situation are addressed. Methodological-biographical notes on Pratt as informant, ethnographer, and author and a discussion of learning and speaking among the Osage are appended. (Contains 49…

Explains rhetorical structure theory's conception of relations and why it has appeal in the domain of text generation. Outlines problems resulting from the widespread adoption of the relational concept. Surveys suggestions about how a standard set of relations could be motivated. Presents a new methodology consisting of gathering and classifying a…

Examines private speech utterances to understand children's verbal self-guidance during school task performances. Finds cognitive and metacognitive private speech utterances indicated children's approach to task performance; children with higher metacognitive levels of private speech were better able to self-regulate school tasks; and children's…

Argues that Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) languages exhibit properties that are consistent with the typology of Lehmann and Venneman in which the basic dichotomy is between Object-Verb and Verb-Object languages and that there is no reason to believe that there are fewer exceptionless generalizations to be made about SVO languages than there are about…

Presents a preliminary study of the use of the Spanish preposition "a" with inanimate direct object nouns (DOs). The properties of such constructions at the lexical, sentence, and discourse levels are described, and the general principles that condition the preposition's appearance are discussed. (21 references) (GLR)

Discusses trends and problems in regarding discourse analysis as a viable paradigm that can govern research, focusing on such issues as the wide diversity and variety of research that can be considered discourse analysis, the predominant focus on English language, research approaches, and undefined variables affecting research outcomes. (seven…