Since its inception, proponents of Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar (GPSG) have claimed the superiority of the analyses that the theory makes available for certain problematic constructions in English. Two examples of such constructions are (1) rightward unbounded dependencies (including right node raising) and (2) parasitic gaps. However, as…

The reversal of subject and predicate terms in quantified, categorical expressions was studied as an operation that is potentially important in issues of representation and comprehension of quantified relations. In two experiments students were asked to evaluate the relation between two quantified expressions. The salience of reversal in the…

A study was conducted to explore the effect of systematically modifying story structure propositions and pronoun antecedents on monolingual, English-speaking students. The study was a replication of earlier work that had involved bilingual students. Thirty fourth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Those in the first…

A study analyzed the cohesive elements found within a text and the difficulty of their resolution within a particular text structure. The specific cohesive form used was pronominal reference. Each of forty-four students in grades ten through twelve was asked to read, sentence by sentence, a text which contained pronouns and pronoun referents. They…

Investigates the role of topic-comment structure and the frequency of topic-prominence in the oral interlanguage of Chinese- Japanese-, Korean-, Arabic-, Farsi-, and Spanish-speaking adult students of English as a second language. Results indicate that second language learning is generally characterized by an early topic-comment stage, independent…

A theory of the origin of the Chinese copula "shi," originally introduced into the language as a particle of affirmation, is presented. This theory also accounts for the contrastive and assertive use of the word when introduced into the language during the same period. (Author/CB)

Examines referential functions of demonstratives in Chinese discourse. Findings indicate that use of the zero-demonstrative in Chinese is the unmarked form of reference roughly corresponding to the referential function of "the" or "it" in English. Demonstratives in Chinese are a marked form of reference roughly corresponding to…

Shows how teachers can use concepts from discourse analysis to help students who have difficulty in understanding the relationships between and within sentences. (EL)

Studied conversation in a role play of assertive behavior of 58 college students and compared this with stylistic complexity derived from publications on assertiveness training. Results showed that for both samples assertive speakers used significantly more words, phrases and clauses than passive speakers. (LLL)

Analyzed pieces of verbal protocol in a group (N=13), demonstrating structures of cognition and language as they pertain to numbers occurring in verbal productions. Analysis suggested that these linguistic anomolies, though atypical, are not anomalous but are clear cases representing processes of cognition and language. (LLL)

An analysis of long-distance anaphora, a binding phenomenon in which reflexives find their antecedents outside their local domain, is presented, using data from English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Icelandic, and Italian. It is found that no approach deals with long-distance anaphors exclusively and elegantly. The binding domain…

A descriptive introduction to the Vietnamese language is presented. An introductory chapter gives an overview of the population using Vietnamese, its affiliation with Chinese and other languages, dialects, role in religion, history, writing systems, syllabic structure, and body language. Chapter 2 describes its sound system, syllable boundaries,…

Four papers on Native American languages include these: "Reduplicated Numerals in Salish" (Gregory D. S. Anderson), which analyzes these patterns in Salish and compares them with other Salish languages; "Unitariness and Partial Identification in the Bella Coola Middle Voice" (David Beck), which argues for a single morpheme,…

Describes and suggests the significance of syntactic imagery, poetic effects created through expressive grammatical structures. (MM)

Compares discourse in several different media and finds that strict sequentiality is not a universal feature of discourse. Concludes that discourse in nonreal time media, such as electronic message systems, has multiple threads. (FL)