Gondi, a Dravidian language spoken by 2.2 million people in central India, is a chain of dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible. This study looked at a two-step sound change, responsible for this dialect division. (ER)

Provides a survey of the Sami languages in present-day Norway. A brief overview highlights the historical and current position of Sami, discusses two often-overlooked examples of Sami language and culture, Lule Sami and Southern Sami, and explores the current position of these latter two examples and the various language and education initiatives…

Reviews the history of interlinguistics in China through scientific and specialist journals, tracing a path from early discussions of language policy through growing recognition of Esperanto as an object of scientific study to the application of interlinguistics in computing and terminology. (Author/JL)

Examined phonological processes in spoken-word production, applying a form-preparation model to the question of whether phonological features could be preplanned to facilitate word production. Results are explained in terms of the WEAVER model of word-form encoding, which follows a serial encoding of segments with a parallel activation of…

Contrasts propaganda about language at different periods during the last 150 years in five localities: southern Austria; western Hungary, Karelia, Moldavia, and northwestern Greece. The study comes out of the little-known field of political linguistics. (Author/VWL)

Examines the semantics of Persian modal auxiliaries, considering them in the light of comparable verbs in English. A discussion of dimension of modality in English is provided for clarification. (Author/VWL)

Tests earlier claims about the universality of patterns of polysemy and semantic extension in the domain of perception verbs. Utilizing data from a broad range of Australian languages, two hypothesized universals are addressed: Viberg's (1994) proposed unidirectional pattern of extension from higher to lower sensory modalities and Sweeter's (1990)…

Discusses the study of second language learning motivation, and suggests that social and psychological aspects of language learning and use are a source of fruitful exploration. Calls for a triangulation of methodology, using hard sociolinguistic data and personal statements from second language learners. Provides examples from studies of…

Presents an optimality theoretic account of syllable codas in Thai English as a Second Language (ESL). The main findings of the study were that the native language constraint rankings interact with target constraint rankings in a specific way, allowing a restricted and predictable range of production types by intermediate Thai learners of ESL.…

Carried out simulations in which a set of morphologically-related words varying in semantic transparency were embedded in either a morphologically rich language (Hebrew) or an impoverished artificial language. Found that morphological priming increased with degree of semantic transparency in both languages. (Author/VWL)

Investigates the lexical forms of speech sound production of a child learning Norwegian and English bilingually from birth. Data for lexical analysis are words attested by the MacArthur Development Inventory for Infants and diary data when the child was 1;2 to 1;8 years of age. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that children follow different paths into learning verbs, and that there are several forces guiding the learning process: cognitive as well as language specific matters, such as morphology, semantics, and discourse. Sketches the basic characteristics of verbs in Tzotzil and examines two children's productions at the end of their…

Presents the case for treating the "ba" construction in Mandarin Chinese as a verb, considering both language-internal arguments and arguments from universal properties of parts of speech. (Author/VWL)

Examines effects of policies implemented by Basque Autonomous Community to reverse decline of the Basque language of Euskara and to restore its use throughout the Basque community on Rioja Alavesa, a borderland zone where Euskara has not been spoken since the middle ages. This case demonstrates the utility of a borderland context, where identities…

Examines the vitality perceptions of the Dutch and the Germans in the context of the progressive European unification with special emphasis on the relationship between subjective vitality perceptions and group identification. Results are discussed with reference to recent findings and developments in vitality theory as well as with regard to…