Discusses first- and second-language word order acquisition. A version of the OV/VO parameter is developed that is not construction specific. It relates various empirical domains, including basic word order, scrambling, exceptional case marking, and the distribution of particles. (Author/JL)

Details findings indicating that most early linguistic competence is item based. Maintains that language development proceeds without evidence of system-wide syntactic categories, schemas, or parameters. Suggests that findings are not easily explained by the development of children's skills of linguistic performance, pragmatics, or other external…

Suggests that a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. This theoretical bilingualism is defined in terms of the minimalist theory of syntax presented by Chomsky (1995). (Author/VWL)

Seven peer commentaries are included in response to an article on the notion that a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. This theoretical bilingualism is defined in terms of the minimalist theory of syntax presented by…

Responds to peer comments on an article the author wrote on theoretical bilingualism--a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. (Author/VWL)

Considers the socio-stylistic distinction of the French variable morpho-syntactic particle "ne." The interspeaker axes of variation in "ne" are summarized, and intraspeaker data deriving from a corpus of spoken French are considered. Examines intraspeaker variation in "ne" by focusing on the use of the variable by a single speaker in both speech…

Reference set computation -- the construction of a (global) comparison set to determine whether a given derivation is appropriate in context -- comes with a processing cost. I argue that this cost is directly visible at the acquisition stage: In those linguistic areas in which it has been independently established that such computation is indeed…

This paper links experimental psycholinguistics and theoretical syntax in the study of subject--verb agreement. Three experiments of elicited spoken production making use of specific characteristics of Italian and French are presented. They manipulate and examine its impact on the occurrence of "attraction" errors (i.e. incorrect agreement with a…

This article describes the role of lexical acquisition in stuttering by examining the research on word learning and interactions between semantics and syntax in typically developing children and children who stutter. The potential effects of linguistic mismatches, or dysynchronies in language skills, on the possible onset and development of…

This paper describes the development of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system for learning Arabic. This system could be used for learning Arabic by students at primary schools or by learners of Arabic as a second or foreign language. It explores the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques for learning…

The present study compares the processing of unambiguous restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses (RCs) within both a null context and a supportive discourse using a self-paced reading methodology. Individuals read restrictive RCs more slowly than non-restrictive RCs in a null context, but processed restrictive RCs faster than…

Parsers are rarely used in language instruction as a primary tool towards a pedagogical end. Visual Interactive Syntax Learning (=VISL) is a programme which is basically a parser put to pedagogical use. It can analyse sentences in 13 different languages, the most advanced programmes being English and Portuguese. The pedagogical purpose is to teach…

This study compares the linguistic development of a gifted bilingual child from birth to 7 with that of subjects in first language acquisition research. The aspects analyzed are phonology, morphology (word formation), lexicon, modality (encoding of speaker's attitude towards the truthfulness of a proposition), syntax (sentence construction),…

This study examined the nature of verb deficits in 14 individuals with probable Alzheimer's Disease (PrAD) and nine with agrammatic aphasia. Production was tested, controlling both semantic and syntactic features of verbs, using noun and verb naming, sentence completion, and narrative tasks. Noun and verb comprehension and a grammaticality…

Language skills were investigated in a multicultural sample of 13 prelingually deaf children (11 profoundly deaf from birth) who received cochlear implants between 14 and 38 months of age; average duration of implant use was 49 months. Individual post-implant language skills ranged from extremely delayed to age appropriate. On average, skills…