Analysis of a form of Burushaski, spoken in northern Pakistan, uses Relational Grammar (RG), targeting grammatical relations at different strata in a clause, to account for a wide range of verb agreement and case marking phenomena. It is found that the RG notions of unaccusative and unergative are sufficient to characterize the two major groupings…

The inadequacies of traditional and transformational models of grammar are overcome in the systemic-functional approach of Halliday, where meaning is built into the grammar and the text is the basic unit. Here, the functional approach is seen in the stress on the role of social/cultural context and in the importance of the role of register, which…

A study analyzed the structure of negative sentences in the Thai language, based on data gathered from two native speakers. It is shown that the Thai negative marker generally occurs between the noun phrase (subject) and the verb phrase in simple active sentences and in passive sentences. Negation of noun phrases is also allowed in Thai, with a…

The purpose of this article is to investigate ways that the grammatical and semantic structures of the Finnish clause limit its possibilities for expressing information structure. The study aims to discover whether there is a correlation between the semantic structure of the sentence and the possibility of using the inverted word order for…

This journal is intended to provide linguistics field workers with news, reviews, announcements, and articles that will stimulate interest in the field of linguistics. Each issue contains three to seven articles and reports, three to five book reviews, announcements relative to the field, and a list of books available for review. Feature articles…

An integrated analysis of the syntax and semantics of serial verb constructions (SVCs) in a group of West African languages is presented. With data from Dagaare and closest relatives, a structural definition for SVCs is developed (two or more lexical verbs that share grammatical categories within a clause), establishing SVCs as complex predicates.…

Analysis of an intonational contour generally used to convey uncertainty about the appropriateness of some evoked scale or scalar value (as in "Anna may marry Manny") is extended to accommodate both uncertainty and incredulity interpretations. This paper proposes a more general account of L*+HLH%, based on an acoustic and pragmatic…

In 1985, the Global Method of Structural Analysis (GMSA) for teaching reading was introduced to first and second graders in Mexico. Breaking away from the more traditional educational methods, it established a basis for more flexible education and effectively utilized critical thinking skills. The preparation stage (reading readiness) begins in…

A study of English nouns derived from verbs and ending in "-ee" is outlined. The objective was to determine whether those nouns exhibit verbal characteristics (aspectual, temporal, or modal) that can be attributed to their derivation from verbs. The study examined 209 nouns. Progress made in the investigation of four hypotheses is…

Linguistics is the study of human language, and has several major divisions: formal linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics. Formal linguistics is the study of grammar, or the development of theories about how language works and is organized. Within formal linguistics there are three major schools of thought:…

Working papers resulting from the 1986 University of North Dakota Summer Institute of Linguistics include: "Orthographic Reform in Kope" (John M. Clifton); "Ternarity and Obligatory Branching in Piraha" (Daniel Everett); "Reduplication in Majang" (Pete Unseth); "Indirect Objects and Incorporation in Mazatec"…

It is argued that the analysis of stress placement in Piraha offers important new evidence on the proper characterization of prosodic organization and the notational devices necessary to express this organization. It is shown that Piraha stress placement is intractable to either a grid account or a binary branching analysis, but that an insightful…

Verb agreement, rules, and their application in Lakota, a Siouan language, are examined in the framework of relational grammar. It is argued that certain relational grammar concepts, especially the notions of level and working 2, provide the necessary theoretical apparatus for formulating concise rules of verb agreement in Lakota. The rules…

There is a set of morphemes in Alsea, an extinct Indian language of the Oregon coast, that are encliticized on the first word of the clause, similar to the second-position clitics in many languages. However, in some sentences these morphemes appear to be infixed rather than cliticized. True infixes are a rare phenomenon, and infixation of a…

An analysis of relative clauses in Navajo looks at a paradox that is rooted in the assumption that in Navajo, as in English, argument positions not occupied by some free lexical item must be occupied categorically by an EC. It examines patterns of and constraints on nominals with relation to the relative clause, theory concerning argumental…