Examines the relationship between language universals and language acquisition, comparing data from studies on first and second language acquisition and universals of relative clause formation. It is concluded that second language acquisition data provide a clearer window for the investigation and verification of language universals than first…

This article surveys the literature on Ebonics that was published from 1865 to 1975. The linguistic features of Ebonics are categorized into phonological, systactical, and lexical groupings. (Author)

Reports on an investigation of the surface forms used by mothers to direct their children's behavior, and of the ways in which these forms are modified as the children grow older and their comprehension of indirect speech acts increases. (AM)

Cree has a grammatical distinction that differs from the Western concept that is relevant for the selection of nominal and verbal endings between animate and inanimate nouns. Examples illustrate how the Cree distinction cuts across animate/inanimate boundaries. (PMJ)

Three studies assessed children's knowledge of the wh question modal auxiliary placement rule by asking the children to imitate (and in Study 3 judge) grammatical and ungrammatical model wh questions. (Author/MP)

Reports on a study designed to investigate the results of intensive sentence-combining practice on the written and oral syntactic fluency of college students of French. (AM)

Preschool children aged 2.6 to 5.0 were presented with reversible active and passive sentences in four comprehension test settings. The children's response patterns were analyzed in terms of individual response patterns. Extralinguistic cues accounted for the most common patterns. (Author/AM)

Discusses the ways in which the lexical items, grammatical code, and the uses of the vernacular sign language, Providence Sign Language (PSL), are interdependent and based on content rather than on an arbitrary, internally defined system. (PMJ)

Demonstrates how Sector Analysis theory can serve as a model for the contrastive analysis of the grammars of any two languages. Examples are provided for English and Hausa. (AM)

Outlines reading activities that can be correlated with children's literature; focuses on the development of vocabulary, syntactic, and graphophonic skills. (MAI)

Discusses ways of teaching complementary pronouns in Spanish, includinq pronouns of direct objects, reflexive verbs, and indirect objects. (NCR)

Proposes an analysis of Spanish indefinite "se" which takes into consideration regional variations. (AM)

The following topics are developed: (1) the problematic aspect of the analysis of French discourse, an introduction to methods, theories and applications; (2) the proposals of M. Pecheux; (3) precisions to render operative definitions derived in the proposals; (4) the Macciocchi manner of speaking; and (5) the Peyrefitte manner of speaking. (AMH)

Reviews some aspects of word formation in foreign language teaching that are receiving attention in current discussions. (IFS/WGA)

Describes a research project carried out in Sweden to study the acquisition of Swedish syntax of negation by adult second language learners. (CFM)