An analysis of noun classes in Tikar, a Benue-Congo language spoken in west central Cameroon, looks at patterns in the noun class system, concord system (possessives, demonstratives, demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative pronouns, third-person pronouns, relative pronouns, copula, adjectivals, and numerals) with an eye to determining whether…

A brief typological sketch of Wappo syntax is presented as well as a detailed presentation of one particular typological characteristic, "subjecthood." An explanation for the unusual surface coding of subjects in Wappo is given. (Author/NCR)

Investigation of data from many languages has the following results: (1) the characteristics of classifier languages are distinguished, and four types identified; (2) defining criteria are postulated for classifiers, and it is discovered that every classifier is composed of one or more out of seven categories of classification. (CHK)

Research on which portions of this study are based was performed under a National Science Foundation Grant and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (VM)

Criticizes mainstream dialectology and linguistic atlases as outdated, and suggests a method for mapping the language of the Southwest. (CK)

MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY, WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THE INITIAL BASIS FOR CHINESE DIALECT CLASSIFICATION, ALONG WITH GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY HAS PROVIDED A FAIRLY REALISTIC GROUPING OF THE MANDARIN DIALECTS. IT NOW SEEMS DESIRABLE TO WORK OUT A FORMAL DEFINITION IN PRECISE LINGUISTIC TERMS OF WHAT CONSTITUTES A MANDARIN DIALECT AND TO DISCOVER WHETHER…

Discusses how linguists determine relationships of languages and group them into a family. Presents a crossword puzzle as a student activity, suitable for science and other classes, to determine the Indo-European roots of English words by a comparative method. (SK)

The purpose of this article is to briefly review recent findings on Ontarian French; to refute claims that it is not an authentic French dialect; and to examine some of the implications these findings may have for French language instruction in Ontario. (Author/SJL)

Describes a semantic content recognition process based on relatively small sets of context relators, logical relators, phase and state relators, and aspect relators, which are connecting tools in describing meanings in process of concept formation and human communication. Semantic analysis of textual data by computer is tested for feasibility.…

Different types of Persian impact on Irano-Turkic language varieties are surveyed and classified according to the Code-Copying model, which implies that copies of elements from foreign codes are inserted, globally or selectively, into a basic code that provides the morphosyntactic frame for the insertion. The study investigates under what…

Slobin (1991, 1996a,b, 1997) has argued that the typological differences between languages with either a satellite-framed or a verb-framed lexicalisation pattern (Talmy, 2000) have important discourse and rhetorical consequences for the expression of "paths of movement" and "manner of movement". These differences are especially…

Analyzes the use of metapragmatic description in the ethnoclassification of language by native speakers on the Franco-Antillean island of Saint Barthelemy. A prevalent technique for metapragmatic description based on honorific pronouns that reflects the varied geolinguistic and generational attributes of the speakers is described. (Author/MSE)

Argues that with regard to an important part of verbal morphosyntax (Tense-Aspect-Mood or TAM), it is possible to speak of a Standard Average European. Focus is on origins and evolution of TAM-markers, or TAM-auxiliation, suggesting that particular verb structures provide conceptual sources for auxiliation, and that it has an areal configuration…

The typological position of the Basque language is examined from an explicitly historical perspective, exploring the degree to which it has undergone typological assimilation into its Indo-European neighbors during the last 2,000 years. Phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon are considered. (MSE)

The syllable structure of Dholuo, a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Western Kenya, is analyzed according to the generative CV-phonology model, which assumes that the syllable has a three-tiered structure: syllable node; CV-tier; and segmental tier. The consonant and vowel repertoires of Dholuo are outlined and charted, and syllable peak patterns,…