We report on three experiments that aim at measuring the role of prosody in the acceptability and interpretation of discourse relations between utterances connected by two French discourse markers, viz. "et" "and" and "alors" "then/well." These two discourse markers are highly polyfunctional: "et"…

The "syntactic bootstrapping" hypothesis proposes that syntactic structure provides children with cues for learning the meaning of novel words. In this article, we address the question of how children might start acquiring some aspects of syntax before they possess a sizeable lexicon. The study presents two models of early syntax…

This study investigates the manner in which syntax, prosody, and context interact when second- and fourth-semester college-level English-French learners process relative clause (RC) attachment to either the first noun phrase (NP1) or the second noun phrase (NP2) in complex nominal expressions such as "le secretaire du psychologue qui se promene"…

The "rhythmic group" in French (noun group or verb group) is described with examples. The aim is to find some relation between the morphophonological phenomena such as "liaison" occurring within such rhythmic groups and the syntactic structure of French. Available from Liber Laeromedel, Box 1205, S-22105 Lund, Sweden. (TL)

Studies the linguistic conception of the laboratory exercises on intonal expressivity included in the audio-visual method for advanced students: "Express Yourself as a Specialist In..." (Text is in French.) (PMP)

This article reports on a study to determine the role of intonation in language acquisition. Related studies are mentioned. Research methods for the study are outlined and two case studies are reviewed. Conclusions show that adult-child interaction influences not only the child's use of intonation but also his acquisition of syntax. (Text is in…

Underlines the importance of semantic, situational, and phonological factors such as intonation in the teaching of French as a second language. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Presents a method for the systematic teaching of prosodic features, particularly in French, based on a general theory of intonation and on the use of a pitch visualizer. (Text is in French.) (AM)

Certain apparently deviant, inverted forms of the French imperative (e.g. "pas touche!" for "ne touche pas!") are analyzed. A number of phonosyntactic explanations that focus on phonological order, rhythm, and intonation are examined. The strength of the imperative intention is also considered. (MSE)