Four experiments on the acquisition of binding are compared, two conducted with Italian-speaking children and two with English-speaking children. English-speaking children's mastery of pronominal binding is found to lag behind their mastery of binding for anaphors and R-expressions. (61 references) (Author/LB)

In a survey, 130 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were asked to describe the meanings of English tenses in terms of time concepts used in ESL grammar texts. Results suggest that grammar teaching utilizing descriptions of time accepted in English-speaking communities to explain usages and meanings of English tenses can limit learner…

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)

Code-switching (CS) patterns of bilingual English-Mandarin speakers underwent structural and functional analysis to reveal the interrelationship between form and function in bilingual CS discourse. Results indicate that certain syntactic forms are utilized to express certain functions in CS discourse and that interlocutor participation helps…

The study with 26 learning disabled students (7- to 10-years old) receiving a direct reading instruction program found that phonological ability was related to progress in word attack skills and that syntactic ability was related to improvement in comprehension skills. (DB)

Three experiments tested 3-year-olds' subordinate classification. The first experiment found that novel noun presentation hindered classification. The second and third experiments found that provision of information for the purpose of distinguishing relevant subclasses, and introduction of novel nouns in conjunction with familiar basic level…

This study analyzed data from a diary study of a child's lexical development. Correct forms and errors in the use of the plural morpheme were recorded from 18 to 30 months. Morphology was acquired before syntax, and there was evidence for a syntactic definition of noun by the age of 20 months. (BC)

Investigation of native Hindi, Japanese, and Korean speakers' acquisition of English phonology and syntax found that, at a certain stage of acquisition, learners arrived at a parameter setting that was midway between the native and target language settings, occurring when the target language employed either a more or less marked setting than the…

Discusses problems encountered with the syntactic analysis of free text documents in indexing. Postcoordination and precoordination of terms is discussed, an automatic indexing system call COPSY (context operator syntax) that uses natural language processing techniques is described, and future developments are explained. (60 references) (LRW)

Results are presented on the grammar of spoken Brazilian Portuguese, with focus on the syntactic boundaries of the main constituents of an utterance. Major differences are found both in the distribution of filling by syntactic adjuncts versus discourse elements and in the susceptibility of different syntactic boundaries to be filled. (Contains 33…

A study investigated patterns of neurological event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by morphosyntactic violations in 16 right-handed, English-speaking subjects. Manipulation of stimulus grammaticality and block probability led to ERP effects consistent with those in previous research on syntactic and semantic processing. Results also provide…

Describes a project to code complementation patterns of all verbs in the Collins COBUILD English language corpus, using simple notation based on words and word classes rather than traditional functional categories. This is the first pedagogic grammar to integrate syntax and lexis using corpus data. Explores the possibility of using a pattern…

Presents the linguistic characteristics of a boy (AZ) with specific language impairment. AZ illustrates the linguistic characteristics of grammatical SLI. Morphosyntactic investigations reveal that all inflectional forms are present but are not used consistently. (Author/VWL)

This study of second- and third-grade students in the Netherlands tests the hypothesis that simplification of the semantic structure will facilitate semantic understanding and acquisition of syntax knowledge within the LOGO Turtle World. Two microworlds were designed applying the theory of automata and abstract languages. (Author/LRW)

Documents the development of a regional dialect in Jakarta, Indonesia, resulting in part from interaction between standard Indonesian and native Jakartan (Betawi). Analysis of verb morphology and the effect of register shift on its use show that a process of koineization has occurred, and Jakarta Indonesian is crystallizing into a nativized koine…