A significant discovery of generative theory is that the features present in a lexical entry in a sentence's deep structure influence choice and arrangement of words in the surface structure. The systemic and nonsystemic functions of Spanish count and measure entity nouns are elaborated and analyzed. (CHK)

Focuses on the licensing conditions on empty categories in DP, dealing in particular with the distribution of the null noun "pro" in adjectival contexts. N-"pro" is submitted to requirements of formal licensing and identification. The contrast between English and other languages with respect to N-"pro" derives from…

Presents a comparative semantic analysis of English, French, and Dutch transitive constructions that takes into account the entity that sets the event in motion, the object it affects, and the process that links both. (18 references) (Author/CK)

Argues that grammatical errors in English-as-a-Second-Language learning are interpretive conflicts that involve meaning as well as form. Noun number errors, or the incorrect use of the plural "-s," are used to illustrate that errors result from two different noun number conceptions: the optional, free-floating -s and the ever present, two-member…

Provides teachers with answers to questions frequently asked by beginning French students relating to gender, infinitive use, placement of adjectives, the existence of so many irregular verb forms and different tenses, conjugation with "avoir" and "etre," the frequency of silent consonants, and the source of words that are…

Reports on two studies examining the effects of object size, container size, sex, and language group on the use of counts in prescriptive and descriptive grammar. Results indicate that people's selection of noun forms in a measure partitive noun phrase is influenced by nonlinguistic factors, such as their gender and the food size relative to…

Three experiments introduced 2- and 3-year-olds to novel adjectives either using full noun phrases and describing multiple familiar objects sharing a salient property or describing nouns of vague reference. Found that both groups mapped novel adjectives onto object properties when given taxonomically specific nouns with rich referential and…

A study of two- to six-year-olds' spontaneous uses of "from" to mark oblique agents showed that, while the two-year-olds produced "from" for agents and "with" for instruments in imitation, older subjects shifted to "by" for agents and kept "from" to mark locative sources. (Author/CB)

Two surveys conducted in the Soviet Union are reported that demonstrate the complicated interrelationship between linguistic form and meaning. They support Jakobson and Gorbacevic on gender signalling, particularly when the speaker is not certain of the noun in question. (Contains 44 references.) (LB)

Addresses the difficulty of article acquisition by examining the perception of noun countability by native speakers of English and Japanese speakers of English, testing whether native and nonnative speakers have different perceptions of countability. Results suggest a possible link between the indefinite versus zero article suppliance by Japanese…

Examines the distribution of clause types in ancient Greek during the Homeric (pre-800 B.C.) and Hellenistic (ca. 100 A.D.) periods, as well as an intermediate period (ca. 450 B.C.), delineating the evolution from a subject-object-verb (SOV) to a subject-verb-object (SVO) structure. (49 references) (MDM)

This study argues that both Shanghai and Taiwanese have a metrical system, that compound stress is left-headed in Shanghai and right-headed in Taiwanese, and that a tonal domain is a metrical one. The article explains some asymmetries between Shanghai and Taiwanese and maintains that metrical structure can be determined when data on phonetic…

Investigates the determinants of adult usage of various syntactic and semantic cues in sentence interpretation. Native French speakers and advanced English/French bilinguals were tested for the strength of usage of word order, clitic pronoun agreement, verb agreement, and noun animacy cues in the assignment of the role in French sentences. (46…

This study reports data on form classes (e.g., nouns, verbs, modifiers) of the early vocabulary of an English-speaking boy with autism, to determine whether his language acquisition was referential or expressive. Results are compared with norms for normal and Down's syndrome populations. The predominance of nominals suggests a referential language…

The quantitative methodology of GOLDVARB is used to examine the variable distribution of lexical noun phrases representing core arguments of the verb in a corpus of spoken French and Spanish. The distribution is shown to conform to a grammatically and pragmatically motivated pattern known as Preferred Argument Structure. (Contains 26 references.)…