A strategy is presented for explaining (and discerning) subtle differences in two words that appear to be semantic twins in one context but are not interchangeable in another context. This strategy suggests the following: (1) list several phrases that contain one of the problem words, then swap the second word for the first; (2) examine the…

English, and presumably any natural language, contains a small group of expressions referring to species of things found in nature. These species are defined by their internal structure, determined by genetics in the case of living things and by chemical or physical properties in the case of others. The reference of these terms is determined by…

Stop consonants after initial /s/ are standardly spelled as the unvoiced stops /p/, /t/, and /k/. Phonetically, however, they are similar to the voiced stops /b/, /d/, and /g/. Research suggests that many young children make consistent, reasonable, but unconventional, judgments about sounds and English spelling. This paper considers the case of…

A distribution of the Italian definite articles "il" and "lo" is proposed that makes use of both Steriade's syllabification rules and a language-specific sonority hierarchy. The incorporation of these rules results in the generalization that the definite article "il" occurs before nouns or adjectives that begin with a consonant that is a member of…

A nonlinear approach to phonology that is more constrained than linear theory is proposed. The theory disallows rules of feature changing, resulting in a stronger, more consistent, and more interesting theory. Specifically, it is suggested, and tested with data from Chukchi, that dissimilations and other nonassimilatory rules are rules of feature…

A defense of functionalism in linguistics, and more specifically the competition model of linguistic performance, examines six misconceptions about the functionalist approach. Functionalism is defined as the belief that the forms of natural languages are created, governed, constrained, acquired, and used for communicative functions. Functionalism…

A discussion of the role of linguistic theory in explaining language acquisition proposes that theory draws too narrow a picture of language to adequately account for the developmental phenomena of acquisition. While recognizing the importance of descriptive linguistic research, a new approach cautions against embracing description to the…

Research possibilities for a new paradigm in rhetorical theory. (CH)

Reports on a study in which eight pages of the weekly "Le Point" were submitted to readers who were asked to: 1) underline all neologisms, 2) indicate the contexts necessary for their explanation, and 3) make a list of doubtful items. (PMP)

Ways in which mothers adjust the explicitness of their speech to the capabilities of their children were explored among 38 mothers and 40 of their children. All children ranged in age from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 years. Children were grouped by mean age in 6-month intervals, with eight subjects per group, and paired with their mothers. Each mother-child…

The inferential use of linguistic and extralinguistic information in structuring conversations was studied in 90 three- and five-year-old children. Pictures portraying an actor-action-object relation, e.g., a child picking a flower, were used to guide conversational sequences. Both active pictures (which emphasized an action relating actor and…

Thirty-six three and four year olds were given six language-related judgment tasks to identify different features of their metalinguistic awareness. Half of the items in each task were correct, half incorrect. Children exhibited metalinguistic awareness by a criterion of 90% or better correct answers on a task. The easiest task was based on…