An analysis of subject placement in Italian argues that placement is not determined entirely by case, but also partly by interpretational considerations. The crucial step in the argument is that there are independent well-formedness conditions on discourse structures and that the apparent interpretational effects on preposed subjects of…

Early explanations of sound change were often sought in extralinguistic factors such as climate or the speakers' physiology. More recently, scholars have been reluctant to explain changes this way, but the most widely accepted extralinguistic explanation is the substratum theory. Other linguists, notably the Prague group, looked to the linguistic…

A study examined pragmatic routine and indirection as regularly-used strategies for accomplishing linguistic action that, while conventional, can pose problems for non-native speakers. Two kinds of conventionalities are distinguished: conventionality of means (kinds of semantic structure that have acquired a standard illocutionary force, such as,…

The dictionary of the Ojibwa or Chippewa language represents the speech of the Mille Lacs Band of Minnesota and contains over 7,000 Ojibwa terms. Each entry gives information on the word stem, grammatical classification, English gloss, form variations, and references to alternate forms. An introductory section describes the entry format and use,…

The value of markedness theory in constructing explanatory models of linguistic meaning is questioned, particularly the claim that a single relationship (marked vs. unmarked) accounts for all differences in asymmetrically paired terms. It is argued that because unmarked terms vary greatly in the distributions that identify them as unmarked,…

This paper presents results of three experiments that examined Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners' perception and production of to whom and how politely one should speak and what expressions are appropriate for whom in American English. Ratings were made on pictures of various types of people (teacher, professor, policeman,…

Conjunctions (e.g., "if, and, so") appear in varied contexts and are associated with a wide range of interpretations. The theoretical options concerning the lexical specifications of these items are: (1) multiplicity of senses; and (2) restricted senses augmented by conversational implicatures. It is proposed here that the latter…

This 16-unit text is an instructor guide and student workbook in one text to accompany a videotape for intermediate and advanced English-as-a-Second-Language students, focusing on some of the different functions and idiomatic uses of the English language. Goals are to bridge the gap between classroom English and real-life English and to improve…

Patterns of plural selection in Armenian suggest that lexical representations of morphemes must include predictable syllabic structure, contrary to most theories of phonology, and that some phonological rules such as syllabification may precede morphological rules, contrary to the theory of distributed morphology. Furthermore, certain segments at…

This study analyzes the discourse structures of one text type in Central Bontoc, one of eight minority Philippine languages. The text explains the Innana rituals, a complex of six rituals held annually in Bontoc villages shortly after the planting of the rice crop. The rituals are considered extremely important because they are believed to help…

An analysis of the use of the English particle "also" in discourse is presented. First, previous analyses of "also" and of related particles "even, only" are outlined and critiqued. It is argued that these analyses draw inadequate conclusions about the particles' usage patterns and meaning. A formulation of the…

The introduction to systemic functional linguistics explores the social semiotic approach to language most closely associated with the work of Michael Halliday and his colleagues. An approach that views language as a strategic, meaning-making resource, systemic linguistics focuses on the analysis of authentic, everyday texts and asks both how…

A study examined the tonal patterns in Komo, a sub-Bantu language of about 200,000 speakers in Zaire. It investigated: (1) the minimal lexical specifications necessary for Komo tones; (2) what sort of tonal alternations exist and how they may be accounted for most simply with rules; (3) how tonal phenomena interact with Komo morphology; and (4) at…

The book is a typological study of grammatical roles, such as agent, patient, beneficiary, and of grammatical relations, such as subject (direct) and indirect object. In addition it is concerned with the devices, such as the passive, that alter the identities in such roles and relations. Its objective is to suggest a consistent and reasonably…

An analysis of tone in language begins with the observation that the structural approach taken in segmental phonology, analyzing complex tones in terms of sequences of level tones, is not necessarily appropriate with tone languages. A different approach is proposed, a "dynamic-tone" theory that represents tone contours entirely in terms…