The textbook provides an intensive introduction to recent work in syntactic theory within the minimalist framework. The approach taken is to presuppose no background knowledge of syntactic theory or historical linguistics. Rather than compare English with other languages, illustrations are drawn from varieties of English from around the world.…

This paper explores the issue of unconscious manipulation in translation. The translator engages in creating new text subject to the principles of totality and part-whole relations. The closer the parts and relations to those of the source text (ST), the more related this new whole will be to the former one. In attempting to preserve ST semantic…

The analysis of interviews with 14 speakers of Honduran Spanish found that group "r,""l" glides, and "s" inhibit spirantization variably, much as they do in Colombian Spanish, presenting a view that attributes spirantization to syllable structure for a more comprehensive explanation of the variable processes. (29…

Examines the organization and function of information-withholding sequences, a conversational strategy used by participants in gossip interaction on Nukulaelae, a Polynesian Central Pacific atoll. Withholding sequences illustrate how ambiguity and repairs can be exploited to meet the communicative demands of particular interactional contexts. (62…

Historic linguistic consequences were studied in five separate areas of Atlantic Canada's Acadian population. Focus was on certain verbs in the third person present plural and the hypothesis that "allent" and faisent" are the result of hypercorrection. Results suggest complex reasons for their use and an indication of some social…

The marking of past temporal reference in Black English Vernacular (BEV) and Trinidadian English is compared. Similarities in the patterns of variation according to verb type and phonological conditioning suggest that past marking in contemporary BEV preserves traces of an earlier shift from a creole pattern to one approximating the Standard…

A sociolinguistic analysis of pronunciation patterns of postnuclear occlusive consonants in northern peninsular Spanish resulted in (1) understanding of the vitality of the use of distinct allophonic variations; (2) characterization of sociolinguistic usage tendencies in relation to speakers' demographic characteristics; and (3) identification of…

Explores Singapore poet Edwin Thumboo's aesthetic use of consistent foregrounding, or use of certain linguistic devices to attract attention, in one poem from three perspectives: propositional; textual; and interpersonal. The approach adopted is functional-semantic in orientation and is designed to gain a better appreciation of the poem's texture…

Investigates stress placement in the English of Spanish Speakers and in speakers of Nigerian English and Singapore English. Reveals that these three varieties have in common several patterns of stress placement that are distinct from British or American English. Shows that these patterns cannot be accounted for by transfer. (Author/VWL)

Provides a detailed voyage into the bilingualism of two Israeli Hebrew-English bilinguals. Compares their patterns of discourse marker employment at two points in their lifetime, twelve years apart. Finds that after 12 years, cognitive and discourse markers show further grammaticization quantitatively, whereas interpersonal discourse markers show…

Studies the quotative system of contemporary British and Canadian youth. Multivariate analysis of nearly 1300 quotative verbs demonstrates that the innovative form "be like" is productive in both Canada and Britain. Traditional quotatives such as "say,""go,""think" are used according to somewhat different…

The pattern of language preference in a simultaneous bilingual (Filipino-English) population was examined, including changes in the pattern of preference over time. Participants were 81 Filipino boys (Mean age=6 years, 2 months) recruited from two schools in the Philippines. A language preference checklist was completed by the parents of the…

This article focuses on a detailed description of patterns of address in Dili Tetum today. It outlines the complexities of the address system and points to considerable variation in its evolving present-day use. We find, amongst other things, that a speaker may use a range of address strategies even to the same addressee, and that the use of…

This article examines how kindergarten-children are differentiated and segregated through vocal practices and processes. The analysis is based on empirical data, which originate from a long ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark. The author presents two different language tones: "a teaching tone and an exchange tone" and shows a pattern in…

English idioms are catalogued for German speakers. The guide is designed to be used both as a reference and as a teaching tool. It is divided into sections, each listing and defining common idioms using a number of English verbs, then presenting them in the context of dialogues. Most sections contain idioms for six or seven more common verbs, then…