A sentence parsing model is presented in which working-memory capacity influences the degree to which multiple syntactic representations are held during syntactic ambiguity processing. Four experiments with 130 college undergraduates suggest that working-memory capacity can influence the length of time in which multiple representations from the…

Using framework of prototype semantics, TE-constructions (type of verbal construct in Japanese), are categorized according to underlying metaphors and related to central TE-construction in which K- 1K- indicate both motion and direction in physical space. Through descriptions, discussions, and examples, it is demonstrated that no adequate…

Describes a category of riddles based on lexical ambiguity and uses category theory to illustrate the function of the accessibility hierarchy in riddling. A discussion of riddles and parallelism (the tendency to stay on the same syntactic, semantic, pragmatic track while processing language) shows how parallelism partially accounts for how the…

Responds to a previous article suggesting that the grammatical mode of communication arose via natural selection, focusing on the following: the impoverished view of language; the use of misleading metaphors; reliance on problematic metalanguage; the absence of developmental evidence; and the absence of qualitative judgments. (JL)

How syntax affects sentence prosody is explored. It is demonstrated that the lengthening of phase-final words and pausing afterward reflect a distinctly prosodic representation in which phonological constituents are arranged in a hierarchical nonrecursive structure. A model of prosodic pronunciation is also presented. (SLD)

Elucidates the syntactic properties of the dative-subject constructions that occur in Japanese and Korean. Gives a consistent account, with the aid of the Agr-less checking theory, of their syntactic properties. (Author/VWL)

Maintains that Edwin Williams has not properly appreciated or presented the central theses of "Indices and Identity" (I&I). The article also states that criticisms of particular analyses offered are consistently off the mark. This discussion note is presented as a clarification of the issues presented. The central concern in I&I is with the nature…

Infants heard sentences in which prosodic structure was either consistent or inconsistent with the syntactic structure. Results suggest that the prosodic information in an individual sentence is not always sufficient to assign a syntactic structure and that learners must engage in active inferential processes to arrive at the correct syntactic…

Examines whether thematic verb-raising is optional in second-language learners' grammars, investigating data from a native Chinese speaker whose English grammar has fossilized with regard to verbal agreement morphology. Data show that, despite omission of regular agreement suffixation in about 96% of obligatory contexts, thematic verbs are never…

Analyzes the word order in noun phrases with a genitive modifier in the colloquial speech of the Russian diaspora in Finland. Informants are considered as either dialect speakers or non-dialect speakers. The study demonstrates how intralinguistic, interlinguistic, and extralinguistic factors operate cojointly, inducing language change. (Author/VWL)

Examines the effects of morphological case on the position of objects in Old English in terms of both formal syntactic accounts and functional explanations. Quantitative analysis of Old English clauses with non-finite main verbs and noun phrase objects demonstrates that overt case-marking, whether ambiguous or unambiguous, has no effect on the…

Discusses Rispoli's data on a model of pronoun case errors in child English, arguing that his claim that overextensions of he and him are antagonistic is inaccurate and his explanation for why her subjects are more frequent than other errors is insufficient. Discusses an account in terms of relative input frequencies, suggesting the fundamental…

Argues that intonation is best analyzed as an overt marking of the focus structure of a sentence. The linguistic level of f-structure in which both topic and focus are identified provides the link between context, interpretation, syntax, and intonation. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that in acquiring two languages from birth, bilingual children separate their grammars from very early on. Focuses on the acquisition of syntax in a generative framework. Argues that cross-linguistic influence can occur if an interface level between two modules of grammar is involved, and the two languages overlap at the surface level…

Studies the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of the referential "renjia" (people-home) in mandarin Chinese, especially the one that allows a specific reference reading. A step-by-step comparison between the usage of the specific referential people-home and that of the Mandarin Chinese bare reflexive "ziji" (self) is provided. Shows why…