The possibility that perceptual predispositions may assist young language learners in the initial identification of words in speech was investigated in a corpus of early words. Results suggest that syllables that are stressed or final in adult speech are particularly salient to young children and likely to be extracted and included in first…

In a discussion of grammatical identity of a Chinese word, the following topics are covered: word identification, word constituents, word properties, intraword structures, and interword constraints. (20 references) (LB)

Discusses the possessive, existential, and locational usages of the Mandarin Chinese verb "you3," arguing for the formulation of a single lexical entry of the verb within lexical-functional grammar and demonstrating the similarities between English idiom chunks and you3 expressions. (20 references) (Author/CB)

Trends in mechanical translation are reviewed briefly, and difficulties in selecting appropriate equivalencies are cited. Decisions dependent upon real world knowledge rather than dictionary equivalents and grammar are illustrated. (15 references) (LB)

Provides a contemporary Government-and-Binding reinterpretation and evaluation of Klima and Bellugi's 1966 work on the acquisition of interrogatives. It is argued that wh-questions in Child English involve a wh-pronoun positioned in the head complementizer position within the Complementizer Phrase (CP) and that children learn that wh-questions…

Discusses a method for extrapolation of diachronic processes from synchronic states, the dynamicization of synchronic typologies, to propose a hitherto unobserved historical source for markers of verbal negation, namely irregular negative existential predicate forms. Explanations are proposed for the occurrence of the attested processes in this…

Presents two questionnaire experiments that investigated the processing complexity of a variety of nested constructions in Japanese. The results are discussed in terms of the syntactic-prediction locality theory. (Author/VWL)

Proposes that, with Fiengo and May's (1994) indexing theory, a full-fledged reconstruction approach to null argument phenomena in such languages as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean is possible. Argues that null noun phrases in these languages must be empty phrase markers underlyingly, not empty pronouns, and their reference properties can be…

Concerns the interrelation between the theoretical status and the social dimensions of syntactic variation in Heerlen Dutch. Syntactic variation of Heerlen Dutch consists of a range of dative constructions that are unacceptable in standard Dutch. (Author/JL)

Describes language acquisition processes occurring in a community of interacting agents, in which coordination of joint attention leads to the development of structures, internal and external, that support organized behavior. It is argued that the simulation model demonstrates the plausibility of propositions arising from such processes, and that…

Presents evidence from the grammaticality intuitions of native speakers and English-speaking second language (L2) learners of Hungarian about optional and categorical constructions. Argues that while observed, stable native optionality is highly restricted and difficult to capture. (Author/VWL)

This paper examines the discourse structure of newspaper editorials in Philippine English in terms of their macrostructure and their lexico-grammatical features. Data were taken from three leading English-language newspapers in the Philippines. Toulmin's framework is used in analyzing the macrostructure of the editorials. The study posits that the…

For forty years linguists have talked about idiolect and the uniqueness of individual utterances. This article explores how far these two concepts can be used to answer certain questions about the authorship of written documents--for instance how similar can two student essays be before one begins to suspect plagiarism? The article examines two…

This volume contains 10 reports of research designed to study the mind of the child and the effects of sequence and process of learning on elementary school children and their writing. Specific purposes, procedures, conclusions, and needed further research are indicated for three studies on the process of written composition, four studies on…

This volume presents the 1968 collection of working papers in the field of teaching English as a second language (TESL). It includes discussions of several practicalities in the field of English language teaching such as choosing literature and short stories for non-native speakers, criteria for selecting textbooks, educational problems involved…