Presents a linguistic description of American Sign Language (ASL) phonology, morphology, and syntax. (AM)

Defines the term "le lexique" showing it as an approach to language study which comprises all levels of linguistic analysis including syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. (Text is in French.) (TL)

Attempts a sketchy classification of English causative verbs, using various linguistic theories but primarily that of generative grammar. (Text is in French.) (AM)

Describes a study showing how a linguistic pattern of alternation affecting an entire speech community is realized in individual idiolects; an example representative of colloquial Helsinki speech is used. Results support observations already presented by Labov, according to which linguistic change is linguistically structured to a very high…

In response to his article describing a new English-language corpus designed to reflect current usage, the author agrees that extreme forms of corpus-driven language teaching are inappropriate but also that more corpus-based language instruction is needed, and that the language teaching can only benefit from better language description. (MSE)

Argues that the position of the finite verb in Old English clauses reflects synchronic variation in underlying structure, INFL-medial versus INFL-final, and that the syntax of main and subordinate clauses is the same. Quantitative data analysis indicates that the frequency of INFL-medial structure increases at the expense of INFL-final structure…

Compares studies of English-based creoles in Atlantic with work on pidgins and creoles in Pacific to examine the core of lexicon that cannot be traced to current standard English and historical relationship between languages. The lexical base of Pacific varieties was both English and English-based creoles of the Atlantic. Grammatical and lexical…

Discusses a method for extrapolation of diachronic processes from synchronic states, the dynamicization of synchronic typologies, to propose a hitherto unobserved historical source for markers of verbal negation, namely irregular negative existential predicate forms. Explanations are proposed for the occurrence of the attested processes in this…

A sociolinguistic analysis of pronunciation patterns of postnuclear occlusive consonants in northern peninsular Spanish resulted in (1) understanding of the vitality of the use of distinct allophonic variations; (2) characterization of sociolinguistic usage tendencies in relation to speakers' demographic characteristics; and (3) identification of…

In this article, I examine Lynn Truss's book of punctuation rules and faux pas, "Eats, Shoots & Leaves," contemplating the complex relationships among class, academics, and language snobbery. I don't refute Truss's lessons on punctuation. Instead, I use her text as a jumping-off point for discussion of the social issues embedded in her guide and…

Bilingual education programs must be based on a sound understanding of the linguistic, social, psychological, and cultural factors affecting students. This paper is concerned with linguistic factors that affect the acquisition of Bahasa Malaysia (BM) pronouns by non-native speakers from Sabah and Sarawak. Properties in the personal pronoun systems…

A tagmemic analysis of Zuni clauses in terms of their grammatical and sememic structure, that is, the participants in a predication and their relational roles. Special attention is paid to the effects on Zuni transitivity and to the difference between nucleus and margin clauses. (SCC)

This paper concludes that there is evidence in favor of handling the derived nominals of Predicate AP's with a lexicalist theory, in conjunction with a base schema of the form (1)-(2). The transformation NP-Postposing is proposed to explain variations. (Available from North-Holland Publishing Co., P. O. Box 211, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.) (CHK)

Romania is a country with a good number of linguistic minorities. Descriptive linguistic data include the number and kinds of languages spoken in what areas and by how many people and their attitudes toward the languages. Models and typologies of language planning are presented to discern their appropriateness. (SCC)

Examines German idiomatic predicate constructions in various aspects; finds that these constructions do not form a homogeneous class, either as to form or as to syntax. Numerous examples, taken from dictionaries and other sources, are used. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)