In this paper, we focus on comments on language issues from a historical perspective. The concept of the layperson (non-linguist) is discussed to identify laypeople and lay comments in history when the modern concept of a linguist did not yet exist. Two studies show how the historical perspective complements modern research on folk linguistics.…

The purposes of this study were to investigate the relation between knowledge of formatives and knowledge of formative derivatives and the relation between knowledge of nonformatives and knowledge of nonformative derivatives, and to determine if the first relation is greater than the second. The subjects were 178 college freshmen who were enrolled…

Derivations of the term "gerund" are examined as they pertain to native English speakers learning French, Italian, and/or Spanish. The form's etymology is chronicled from Latin, and its current usage in student textbooks in the three languages is examined. A solution to the terminological confusion surrounding the term is proposed. (41…

Compares indirect "wh"-questions and independent relatives, points to the absence of a clear-cut boundary between these two types of construction, and argues for the indispensability of semantic and pragmatic analysis for syntactic theory. The article emphasizes that it is the answer to a question that supplies the determinate element…

A sixth- and seventh-grade program "Latin Vibes," developed in response to a rising demand within the community for more student understanding of the evolution of the English language, is outlined. The courses for each grade chronicle the influences of Latin and the romance languages on the development of English over the centuries. The program…