Examines the idea of a mismatch between grammaticality and acceptability. Evidence is used to refute the claim that ungrammatical but acceptable sentences are theoretically plausible in the case of the sentence, "A not unhappy person entered the room." (AMH)

The hypothesized ability of adult native speakers to understand linguistic ambiguity was tested. An approach developed to determine linguistic competence tested the ability of 90 participants in individual interviews to interpret sentences having the potential for multiple interpretations. The hypothesis was not supported by the data. A hierarchy…

This grammar presents a comprehensive, structural treatment of Russian. Intended primarily for students of Russian and Slavistics as a textbook or manual for use in a course on Russian linguistic structure, it also serves as a reference grammar based on the principles of structural linguistics. The three major sections consider the sound system,…

In line with current thinking in transformational grammar, syntax as a system can and should be studied before a study is made of the use of that system. Chomsky's lexical redundancy rule is an area for further study, possibly to come closer to defining and achieving explanatory adequacy. If it is observed that English nouns come in two types,…

This volume of working papers includes seven papers discussing current theory and research in linguistics, phonetics, semantics, and syntax. The following titles are in the collection: "'Do' from 'Occur',""The Syntax of the Verb 'Happen',""Subjects and Agents,""Modal Auxiliaries in Infinitive Clauses in English,""Some Problems in the Description…

This volume accompanies and illustrates "Hierarchy and Universality of Discourse Constituents in New Guinea Languages: Discussion" (FL 003 513), which reports on research carried out in New Guinea and surrounding areas. This volume provides sample texts, over and beyond the fragmentary examples given in the discussion text. The examples…

A historical perspective of French grammar is developed in this chronologically arranged reader. Part One includes material on French grammar from the 16th to the 19th century: (1) the "Premiere Epoque": 1530-1660, (2) the general grammar of Port-Royal, and (3) the "philosophical grammars" treating syntax, sentence structure, and discourse…

On the basis of experimental data, the author makes the following observations: (1) the basic encoding processes in speech, the schemas of order, first produce elementary underlying sentences; (2) underlying sentence structure is the controlling step in the organization of speech; (3) underlying sentence structure plays a central role in…

This syntactic analysis of Egyptian colloquial Arabic is based on the author's dialect which he designates as educated Cairene. This study offers a phonological as well as morphological background for the grammar of this particular dialect. The basic syntactic approach used is immediate constituent analysis. String analysis and transformational…

This paper examines the question of whether two labels should be used for the units traditionally called "sentence" and "clause" or whether the same label should be used and the units distinguished in some other way. Proponents of a two-level analysis have traditionally argued that sentences and clauses can have different…

The serious student of language, English or foreign, and especially the future language teacher must receive a solid training not only in theoretical but also in applied syntax. Such a course should be offered at the advanced level and deal with the syntax of the language involved in a rigorously systematic way. The search for a systematic, yet…

This paper examines certain of the cues to surface constituency that are salient to children in the comprehension of syntactic structure. Accessibility is studied through a set of experiments requiring seven-year-old children to repeat certain syntactic constituents. These children can correctly identify subjects and also predicate phrases with…

TRUE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY CAN BE ACHIEVED ONLY BY THE INTERNALIZATION OF THE ENTIRE GRAMMAR OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE PLUS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILL IN SEMANTIC INTERPRETATION. ADHERENCE TO EITHER OF THE METHODOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT UNDERLIE TODAY'S AUDIOLINGUALLY-ORIENTED PROGRAMS WILL LEAD STUDENTS TO NOTHING MORE THAN A LEARNING PLATEAU.…

The distinction between artifact and tool is introduced into the study of language diversity and the posting of linguistic universals. A complicating factor in all language investigations is the use of language as the chief tool to create new language. Analogy and metaphor are considered as two major creative forces at work in all languages.…

"How does a child come to be able to relate his own experience to the formal means of communicating about that experience in the language to which he is exposed?" The author maintains that the innate predispositions that underlie the development of the cognitive ability to organize and structure experience also underlie the acquisition of the…