Taking its inspiration from a study conducted by Svalberg of Brunei English verb usage (1998), this paper examines the responses of a sample of 205 Filipino university freshmen to grammatically correct and incorrect verb forms in a 20-item Grammaticality Judgment Test. The test covered tense harmony, verb forms, tenses, and modals. Except in the…

It is a matter of debate whether the two differentiated grammatical systems in a bilingual child develop autonomously, or whether there is interdependence and in what areas (Genesee, 2001; Meisel, 2001). Extensive research is being carried out in the emergence of the two grammars, but not much attention has been given to the development of…

A study examined traditional Hindi songs typically sung by women during north Indian weddings, using pragmatic and semantic analysis. Some historical and cultural background for the practice of women's singing at weddings is offered. It is suggested that gender roles are defined and regulated through the language of this speech event, and that…

This paper presents an analysis of the meanings and uses of two reflexive morphemes in the Mohawk language. Reflexive "atat" is shown to have both reflexive and reciprocal meanings. It is also realized in kinship terms and in the transitive pronominal prefix "yutat." Semi-reflexive "at" has some reflexive functions,…

Two studies examined the relationship between word knowledge and reading comprehension. Subjects were college undergraduates with high and low verbal abilities as indicated by a standardized verbal aptitude test. The first study involved a multiple choice vocabulary test from which words that both groups defined correctly were selected. The…

A study of the semantic factors determining the choice of "go to" and "will" in some varieties of spoken English looks at intentionality and premeditation, imminence, observation, presence on the scene of action, certainty, inference and observation, knowledge and certainty, present relevance and immediacy of action, children's acquisition of…

The uses of the present progressive tense in informal English spoken discourse are examined, focusing on the increasing frequency of the so-called stative or non-action verbs found in the progressive aspect. Generalizations are proposed to account for: (1) the discrepancy between grammar book explanations and actual usage, and (2) the meaning of…

In this paper, one aspect of nonverbal behavior concomitant with verbalizations produced by mothers interacting with their young children is analyzed. The purpose is to examine the frequency and type of nonverbal cues accompanying verbalizations directed to the young child and to observe how these cues vary with the response of the child as well…

TWO TRANSFORMATIONAL-GENERATIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING SYNTAX IN JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS ARE PRESENTED. ONE IS FOR USE WITH AVERAGE AND TALENTED STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-9, AND THE OTHER IS FOR SLOW-LEARNING STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-11. A DISCUSSION OF THE FIRST APPROACH IS DIVIDED BY GRADE LEVEL AND INCLUDES AN EXAMINATION OF BASIC SENTENCE…

Sexist language provides a useful diagnostic symptom of how pervasively women's invisibility and degradation are manifested in modern society. In analyzing instances of sexist language usage, three types of factors may be considered: (1) linguistic facts related to the sexist usage; (2) cognitive factors--attitudes, values, perceptions--behind the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of varying the semantic content of active and passive sentences along a dimension of "personalness" on the comprehension of those sentences by preschool age children. The study focuses on a current linguistic controversy dealing with the relative adequacy of syntax-based and…

The report contains a comparison of oral expression by the same experimental subjects under normal conditions and in a state of emotional stress. The study permits isolation of linguistic features of the formation of oral expression under emotional tension. This report is a translation of an article originally written in Russian. (NTIS/KM)

The social, economic, political and cultural changes brought about by the Cuban Revolution have elicited linguistic changes. Although the Revolution is only fifteen years old, these changes have reached the morphological and semantic components of the language. This paper explains the Russian influence and discusses and classifies…

This report describes an investigation of the acquisition by children of a symbolic system, specifically English nomenclature--that set of nouns that serves the function of naming, denoting, or referring to objects. The five studies involve nine experiments dealing with one or another of the aspects of this problem. Two questions guided these…

"What is Language" is a course involving the study of the origin of language, language misconceptions, linguistics, semantics, communication, symbols, persuasion, and word manipulation. With the major concept of how language works in mind, the course includes the following: word order of English sentences; word classes and structure…