The Setswana language possesses a verbal prefix that, according to some grammarians of the language such as D. T. Cole, is categorized as the reflexive prefix, closely allied to objectival concords. If the morphology suggests that this morpheme be characterized as a reflexive object prefix, it does not always give expected results in its semantic…

The structure of the grammar of Shabo, a little-known and unclassified Nilo-Saharan language of south-central Ethiopia, is described briefly. An introductory section describes the geographic area in which the language is used and reviews previous research on Shabo. Subsequent sections explain basic features of Shabo phonology (consonants,…

This paper examines the Turkish origins of a number of Cypriot-Greek words, explaining how some of these words have undergone a semantic shift. Words of Turkish origin can be divided into three classes: (1) culturally borrowed, those words that introduced a new concept into Cypriot-Greek and have no purely Greek equivalent; (2) doublets, those…

This paper examines nominalization and serial verb construction (SVC) in Dagaare, a West African language. It discusses nominalization theory and its relation to Germanic languages such as English, German, and Dutch, using insights gained from the study of these languages to help illuminate nominalization in Dagaare and other similar West African…

This work discusses the limits of conversion, or zero-derivation, as a nominalization process in the Choctaw language. It demonstrates that Choctaw relies on zero derivation for many nominalizations, but that this is a process occurring in the lexicon and therefore not a word formation rule. It also asserts that there is one reliable lexeme-level…

This paper examines the reconstruction of doublets in the Proto-Algic Indian language. These doublets suggest dialect mixing before the breakup of Proto-Algic society, with frequent elements commonly manifesting the prestige-dialect innovations. An extensive Proto-Algic vocabulary is included. Two appendixes explain new or significantly revised…

Six Ilianen Manobo stories transcribed from oral performances, are presented here. The stories selected are those frequently used to transmit highly-valued Manobo cultural goals and values, including those used as parable in establishing precedent in the formal setting of custom-law cases. An introductory chapter provides background information on…

Folk etymology is defined as a change in word or phrase form resulting from an incorrect popular idea of its origin or meaning. Irregular phonetic-semantic shifts are produced by inter-language borrowing or by intra-language passage from one period to another. These shifts are more common in periods when there are no, or few, normative factors…

Five working papers in linguistics are presented. "Case Marking Strategies in Kope" (John Clifton) shows that there are different strategies followed by Kope for marking core as opposed to peripheral arguments, and discusses typological implications. In "Unmarked and Marked Instances of Topicalization in Hebrew" (Stephen H.…

A proposal that further generalizes a rule in Government and Binding theory (Chomsky, 1981) is examined for its implications for acquisition of verb movement. Mark Baker's proposal extends the Move-alpha rule to posit that the head of any phrase may be moved to become incorporated into the head of any phrase that properly governs the phrase where…

An often-noted contrast between child and adult language is that young children produce sentences both with and without lexical subjects even if subjects are obligatory in the adult system. However, in Dutch, there is no such structural difference between the earliest stages of Dutch child grammar and the adult stage where subjects are concerned.…

Some Japanese examples of several common phonological phenomena (whispered vowels, nuclear friction, and consonant-vowel articulation) are examined. The segmental and transformational characterizations of these and related phenomena are reassessed and it is shown that by paying more careful attention to phonetic detail and abandoning conventional…

The language rights of speakers of non-dominant languages are examined. It is argued that language rights are one category of human rights, and the protection of all languages requires a universal declaration, which can serve both to promote dominant languages and to avert the death of others. Linguistic rights are discussed in terms of the six…

The Bikol language of the Philippines, spoken in the southernmost peninsula of Luzon Island and extending into the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, is presented in this bilingual dictionary. An introduction explains the Bikol alphabet, orthographic representation (including policies adopted in writing Spanish and English loan words),…

This report is a brief overview of the work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Australia during 1988 in the areas of literacy, linguistics, and translation. The background of the SIL, its operations, and its membership are described. The activities of the Culture Studies Department are highlighted, and special events, workshops, and…