Presents three sets of data (signs from the "Dictionary of ASL," 1976; loan signs; and case histories of specific signs) that demonstrate the involvement of the "knuckle-wrist connection" with American Sign Language phonology. (AM)

Reviews two textbooks that introduce generative research on second language acquisition and evaluate existing proposals about the role of universal grammar. Comparison of the two texts provides an opportunity to examine conventions the field uses in representing itself to a novice readership. (Author/VWL)

An examination of second-language acquisition research assumptions argues that second language data are important to understanding the nature of language. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence relating to language universals indicates that research must consider how disparate facts of language are conceptually related…

Argues for a shift in emphasis in the investigation of universals in second-language acquisition. To construct a psycholinguistically plausible theory of acquisition, research must proceed simultaneously on the elaboration of several theories regarding computation consistent with human biology, structural universals and variation, meaning, and…

Argues that current attempts to show that forward directionality effects can also be induced in Japanese acquisition do not succeed in supporting the forward directionality preference of anaphora. (57 references) (Author/CB)

Argues that the study of natural sign languages can enhance understanding of what language really is. The aspects of sign language that are similar and dissimilar to the characteristics of spoken language are described. (Author/CB)

Reviews recent research in universal grammar-based child second language acquisition (SLA) research, arguing that child SLA studies can better explore the role of biological factors in language acquisition and strengthen the links between SLA and linguistic theory. (129 references) (MDM)

Data from 37 children (aged 3;1 to 6;10) and 15 adult controls support idea that poor performance on Principle B of Binding Theory is result of exposure to sentences like "I chose me" and insensitivity to contrastive stress (CS). There was a high correlation between performance on Principle B and sensitivity to CS. The Contrastive Stress…

Responds to previous article suggesting that grammatical mode of communication arose via natural selection. Recent linguistic research is reviewed that demonstrates that grammar is discourse driven and that explanations for grammatical phenomena not only must come from outside the grammatical system but must come from principles governing the…

Analyzes longitudinally the acquisition of Yes-No questions by beginning English-as-a-Second-Language students. The students' rates of learning went through evolutions similar to those observed among students in other studies. The findings support the existence of universal principles of language acquisition even in foreign-language learning. (28…

Examines crosslinguistic variation in "filler-gap dependencies" (wh-questions and relative clauses) from a processing perspective, and integrates research findings from psycholinguistics, language typology, and generative grammar. Numerous implicational universals and hierarchies are proposed that receive a natural explanation in terms…

Reviews the literature on general learning strategies as they pertain to the UG (universal grammar)- or non-UG debate and the second-language acquisition process and discusses this literature in the context of the literature on learning strategies from psychological research. (Author/JL)

The nature of grammatical relations such as subject and object are examined. The ways in which subjects differ from language to language are described and the way in which a language can do without a subject relation is revealed. Three primitive functional properties of sentences which underlie the syntactic relations of subject and topic are…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOME LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS ARE, IN FACT, THE INEVITABLE RESULT OF UNIVERSAL MENTAL CAPACITIES. ONE SUCH UNIVERSAL IS SUGGESTED, AND THE ENTIRE QUESTION IS CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF CERTAIN THEORIES OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT--MAINLY PIAGET'S, AND SECONDARILY BRUNER'S AND VYGOTSKY'S.…

The paper presents a set of linguistic phenomena illustrative of the notion "universal tendency". Linguistic generalizations are regarded here not as isolated, "true-or-false" propositions but as embedded in a hierarchy of competing forces. An "exception" to a universal is thus seen as the result of the prevalence of another conflicting universal…