This book addresses the growing need to familiarize classroom teachers with the structure and use of language. Written with future teachers in mind, it addresses the core areas they will find most relevant, introducing them to various types of linguistic analysis while covering the basics of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Seven…

This paper investigated if prior context was used by readers to resolve temporarily ambiguous prepositional phrases. The paper addresses two issues, referring to two competing approaches to sentence processing and testing the predictability of each approach in two online reading experiments. The issues focus on the Human Sentence Processing…

This study investigated the process of acquisition of syntax in Japanese as a second language (JSL) in five university students over a period of 3 years. The report begins with an overview of Japanese syntax and an explanatory model of second language learning based on human information processing. Four phases of JSL learning with 16 sub-stages…

A cross-linguistic comparison of syntax acquisition patterns examined preferential subject omission in the naturally-occurring speech of three Japanese toddlers from the Tokyo area and compared the findings to data on English acquisition. Results indicate that acquisition patterns of Japanese do not mirror those of English with regard to this…

Any theory of stylistics sets itself the task of accounting for choices made by a speaker/writer among theoretically available and more-or-less equivalent linguistic structures. This task is a stumbling-block in the way of most attempts to construct a theory of style because there is no consistent method of defining 'available structures' and…

A review of traditional and transformational studies on the phenomenon of sentential complementation (noun clauses) reveals many areas of agreement. Although some adherents of generative grammar may have occasionally obscured this aspect because of the offensive nature of their criticism of other modes of analysis, it is seen that, in several…

Five papers on the grammar of Warlpiri, an Australian Aboriginal language, include: "A Tentative Description of Ngardilpa (Warlpiri) Verbs" (Lothar H. Jagst); "Syntactic Structure of Warlpiri Clauses" (Stephen M. Swartz); "A Preliminary Description of Propositional Particles in Warlpiri" (Mary Laughren);…

A computer program for classifying elements of a language corpus for large-scale analysis is discussed. The approach is based on the assumption that there is a natural unit in speech processing and production, called a tone unit. The program "tags" the five grammatical phrase types (verb, adverb, adjective, noun, and prepositional) to…

A study of problems posed by Mandarin Chinese data for modern linguistic theory focuses on the reduplication involved in the "A-not-A" construction. The Mandarin data and its possible descriptions are used to investigate the question of whether context-free languages are adequate to describe certain linguistic data. These data constitute a case…

This paper addresses itself to the way in which K'ekchi speakers identify the subject and the object in simple sentences. An attempt is made to determine: (1) whether K'ekchi has a basic word order, (2) the possible functions of any derived word order, and (3) whether there are any constraints on the logically possible word orders in K'ekchi. A…

This manual has been developed to supplement the drills in Units 1 through 15 of the FSI "French Basic Course," or to substitute for them. Designed as a companion piece, the materials do not stand on their own but must be used in conjunction with the dialogues, grammatical notes and instructions in "French Basic Course", to which the numbered…

This paper attempts to discuss some of the implications of transformational grammar for language analysis and language learning. The author covers the following points: (1) transformational grammar--some background and some claims, and some linguistic and psychological implications; (2) which, if any, of the claims of transformational grammar are…

Automatic speech recognition is expected to be more successful when syntactically-related information is incorporated into early stages of recognition. Phonemic decisions, in particular, are expected to be more accurate and less ambiguous when contextual information is considered. A computer program detected about 90% of all boundaries between…

Hierarchies have been identified as determinants of constituent order. The set of such hierarchies is reviewed and ranked as determinants of NP sequencing in English. The effect of a hierarchy in other languages is compared to and contrasted with what is found in English. (Author/LMO)

Fifty-five structures of the Chinese language are described and their particular usage patterns are discussed for the use of teachers, linguists, and advanced students of Chinese. Each structure is listed by its major structural element(s), its grammatical element(s), or a combination of the two. The examination of each structure consists of an…