A recent wave of linguistic research has attempted to demonstrate empirically that in learning the syntax of a second language, adults re-access their universal grammar (UG). However, the conspicuous lack of success of second language learners has caused researchers to seek evidence in experimental data. The most expedient source of this data is…

Expanded version of a paper presented at the 7th Linguistics Colloquium, Nijmegen, Netherlands, September 27-30, 1972; presented at the University of California, San Diego. (DD)

Seeks to formulate a definition of imperativity based on extralinguistic rather than formal notions. (TL)

This paper is an empirical study of Dryer's (1980) universal hierarchy of positions of sentential complements as a predictor of second language acquisition. The place of universal grammar in second language research is discussed, as is Dryer's hierarchy and preliminary psycholinguistic evidence in support of it. The results of an experiment…

This paper discusses the term "language universal" and posits a definition of a "counter-universal." It is proposed that the voiced aspirates of Bario Kelabit represent an exception to a posited phonological behavioral universal and are an important addition to the inventory of possible phonetic segments. (AM)

Distinction is made between nonsignificant (i.e. definitional or accidental) and significant universals. Two approaches to discovering the significance of universals are characterized and evaluated: the process-state approach, which aims at "transmission-significant" universals, and the transformationalist approach, which seeks for…

Evidence is offered to support the view that linguistic competence cannot in principle be divorced from linguistic performance in order to abstract universal properties of grammars, that rules of grammar inevitably incorporate perceptual strategies and constraints, and that grammaticality and acceptability are related to predictability. A theory…

This paper draws from data on 123 languages to examine the semantics of comparative systems in an attempt to define as closely as possible the relationships that exist among three basic types of constructions and among their constituents. It is determined that superlatives mark absolute disparity, that comparatives mark relative disparity, and…

Two linguistic propositions provide the subject matter for this discussion. The first is that all nouns can serve as locatives. This is exemplified in the locative structure of Chinese nouns, mostly with the overt markers of locative suffixes, just as English nouns are used as such in the form of prepositional phrases, or as Japanese nouns are…

This paper, a commentary on W.W. Gage's article "Uncommonly Taught Languages" (AL 002 524), attempts to stress other aspects than those treated by Gage and points out the practical and technical needs of those interested in the field. The author views the goal of the study of uncommonly taught languages at the understanding of other peoples and…

This paper represents a preliminary attempt to determine universals of grammatical development in children. On the basis of language acquisition data, a limited number of findings are presented in the form of suggested developmental universals. These universals are grouped according to the psychological variables which may determine them, in the…

To determine to what extent listeners respond to the vocal content of "how" of spoken messages, this study investigated the effects that the two vocal variables or rate (speed) and intensity (loudness) had on the responses made by 445 English-speaking high school students to messages spoken in an unfamiliar tongue. The basic messages were recorded…

This report considers the early stages of grammatical development in the child. It summarizes some cross-linguistic similarities in acquisition of several different types of languages: English (both white and black, lower and middle class), German, Russian, Finnish, Samoan, and Luo. With this small but diverse collection of languages and cultures…

Four hypotheses concerning the linguistic structure of yes-no questions and their answers are considered as hypotheses relating to the abstract structure of yes-no questions and to this abstract structure in all human languages. The universal base hypotheses are the following: (1) The abstract representation of all yes-no questions includes two…

This book is an introduction to linguistics, written for the beginning student. Among the topics explored are speculations about the origins of language, its nature, how it grows, and how it changes. Other topics include what is essential in the structure of language, the similarities and differences among languages, how the varying patterns of…