An examination of some surface differences between quantifier phrases (QP) in standard Italian, Genoese dialect, and French is reported. The analysis makes specific reference to the distribution of empty noun phrase and adjectival phrase categories in SpecN, and uses the concept of inflectional rules. Although details have not yet been worked out,…

An analysis of the nature of secondary predicates takes a comparative approach, using Italian and English. Distributional properties and extraction facts are accounted for, and an explanation for the fact that resultatives are not allowed in Romance languages is sought on the basis of Italian evidence. It is argued that the semantic distinction…

It is argued that the general consensus of researchers of child language that the grammatical system underlying the child's earliest multiword utterances is semantically-based, fails to provide an adequate description of even the earliest multiword utterances, and that the most sparing account of the acquisition data must include reference to…

A bilingual program funded under Title VII and carried out in four Bronx, New York, elementary schools is the subject of this evaluation report. Staffing patterns, inservice training, and English as a Second Language classes for Spanish and Italian speaking parents are briefly described. Evaluative data tables are presented for student performance…

Project ABLE (Achieving Through Bilingual Education) operated in six public and nonpublic schools in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1978-1979 school year. Approximately 250 students from four language groups (Hebrew, Italian, Russian, and Spanish) received ABLE services. The program focused on the maintenance of bilingual resource centers and on…

Reviews research about the brain's hemispheric functions, emphasizing the practical implications and applications of bimodal language learning. Four pedagogical principles (contextualization, visualization, diversification, and personalization) that characterize any integrated approach to language teaching are also discussed. (CB)

Evaluates the contribution of visuo-gestural modality versus linguistic factors in determining the order of elements in sign language. The results of a study show that Italian Sign Language differs along significant lines from both spoken Italian and pantomime. (22 references) (GLR)

This study assesses children's understanding of the Italian modal verbs "dovere" (must) and "potere" (may) in their dual function of qualification of the speaker's beliefs (epistemic modality) and behaviour regulation (deontic modality). 192 children and 60 adults participated in the experiment. Children aged 3;0 to 9;2 were presented with two…

This paper analyses the language practices of a teacher in an Italian bilingual class. The children were learning Italian in Year One of elementary school. The teacher consistently spoke Italian with the children. The description of the teacher's talk shows how she used Italian for classroom management, for instructions, for teaching subject…

The study investigates the relationship between input, UG (Universal Grammar) parameter values, and the native language in the acquisition of a purely semantic property that is superficially unrelated to its syntactic trigger, The Bare Noun/Proper Name parameter (Longobardi, 1991; 1994; 1996; 2001; 2005). On the one hand, English and Italian bare…

Discusses research that gathered language samples via videotape recordings from 2 Italian children (one upper class, the other lower class) from the age of 18 months to 36 months, and then analyzes the data to determine the development of morphology and syntax in these children. (19 references) (CFM)

A commonly held notion of how earlier generations of immigrants were educated--often used as the chief argument supporting English immersion--is a myth. Far from succeeding by immersing themselves in English, immigrant groups did much worse than the native-born; some groups, particularly Italians, did much worse than others. Research findings are…

An analysis of long-distance anaphora, a binding phenomenon in which reflexives find their antecedents outside their local domain, is presented, using data from English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Icelandic, and Italian. It is found that no approach deals with long-distance anaphors exclusively and elegantly. The binding domain…

The report details results in the fifth year of implementation (1997-97) of a set of French, German, and Italian instructional modules designed for non-foreign-language-majors at the University of Dublin (Ireland). Focus is on the chief developments during that year (further refinement of the curriculum, production of a guide to independent…

This paper reports on a project examining the relationship between program model, sociolinguistic factors, and linguistic outcomes in a small sample of school languages other than English (LOTE) programs in Victoria. The languages are Chinese, German, Greek and Italian. Issues under consideration include: content-based versus language-object…