Under the assumption that, with the exception of certain learned, retarded, and borrowed words, the bulk of any language undergoes sound changes that are regular over any given geographical area, over any given time span, and in any given sound environment, these sound changes have been reduced to logical terms and have been programmed to generate…

A comparison of the application of two current theories of stress to a particular stress pattern found in the Salish language Sooke is presented. Hammond's (1986) grid-like tree structure representation of stress is compared with Halle and Vergnaud's (1986) tree-like grid structure. Examples in the Australian language Maranungku show that, in…

One concern in current sociolinguistic theories of language variation is to find dynamic models that integrate rules governing the 'lects' of a language into a unified description of that language. The dynamics of language change in the variations inherent to the Fijian dialect chain have profound implications for language literacy and educational…

Analysis of an intonational contour generally used to convey uncertainty about the appropriateness of some evoked scale or scalar value (as in "Anna may marry Manny") is extended to accommodate both uncertainty and incredulity interpretations. This paper proposes a more general account of L*+HLH%, based on an acoustic and pragmatic…

A discussion of points raised by Dell Hymes in his article "On Communicative Competence" leads to a proposal for a clearer and more comprehensive theory of communicative competence based on two models, a matrix of discourse analysis and a model of communication interaction. Pedagogical implications of the theory are considered, including the…