Abstract: Part 1 A learnability paradox: argument structure and the lexicon the logical problem of language acquisition Baker's paradox attempted solutions to Baker's paradox. Part 2 Constraints on lexical rules: morphological and phonological constraints semantic constraints how semantic and morphological constraints might resolve Baker's paradox evidence for criteria-governed productivity problems for the criteria-governed productivity theory. Part 3 Constraints and the nature of argument structure: overview - why lexical rules carry semantic constraints constraints of lexical rules as manifestations of more general phenomena a theory of argument structure on universality. Part 4 Possible and actual forms: the problem of negative exceptions transitive action verbs as evidence for narrow subclasses the nature of narrow conflation classes defining and motivating subclasses of verbs licensing the four alterations the relation between narrow-range and broad-range rules. Part 5 Representation: the need for a theory of lexicosemantic representation is a theory of lexical semantics feasible? evidence for a semantic subsystem underlying verb meanings a cross-linguistic inventory of components of verb meaning a theory of the representation of grammatically relevant semantic structures explicit representations of lexical rules an lexicosemantic structures summary. Part 6 Learning: linking rules lexical semantic structures broad conflation classes (thematic cores) and broad range lexical rules summary of learning mechanisms. Part 7 Development: developmental sequence for argument structure alterations the unlearning problem children's argument structure changing rules are always semantically conditioned do children's errors have the same cause as adults? acquisition of verb meaning and errors in argument structure some predictions about the acquisition of narrow-range rules summary of development. Part 8 Conclusions: a brief summary of the resolution of the paradox argument structure as a pointer between syntactic structure and propositions the autonomy of semantic representation implications for the semantic bootstrapping hyposthesis conservatism, listedness and the lexicon spatial schemas and abstract thought.

Abstract: MICHAEL KRAUSS University of Alaska, Fairbanks The Eyak language of Alaska now has two aged speakers; Mandan has 6, Osage 5, Abenaki-Penobscot 20, and Iowa has 5 fluent speakers. According to counts in 1977, already 13 years ago, Coeur d'Alene had fewer than 20, Tuscarora fewer than 30, Menomini fewer than 50, Yokuts fewer than 10. On and on this sad litany goes, and by no means only for Native North America. Sirenikski Eskimo has two speakers, Ainu is perhaps extinct. Ubykh, the Northwest Caucasian language with the most consonants, 80-some, is nearly extinct, with perhaps only one remaining speaker. Here we might be accused of jumping the gun, prematurely announcing the extinction of a language, since-as I heard somewhere-two or three more speakers of Ubykh had reportedly been found.'1 But what difference does it make in human history that a language became extinct in 1999 instead of 1989? What difference does it make if the youngest speaker is 90 or in fact 9? Only 81 years in the date of the inevitable extinction of the language, a mere moment in human historythough a crucial moment for linguists today, as we shall see. Language endangerment is significantly comparable to-and related toendangerment of biological species in the natural world. The term itself is presumably drawn from biological usage. For language we need our own definition of terms. Languages no longer being learned as mother-tongue by children are beyond mere endangerment, for, unless the course is somehow dramatically reversed, they are already doomed to extinction, like species lacking reproductive capacity. Such languages I shall define as 'moribund'. (There is an important difference here from biological extinction, because under certain conditions language is potentially revivable, as shown by the case of Hebrew.) In assessing the modern situation of language endangerment, let us set aside the languages already known to have become extinct-that is yet another issue, which we shall not get into. The question for us here is this: how many languages still spoken today are no longer being learned by children? This is a key question, as such languages are no longer viable, and can be defined as moribund, thus to become extinct during the century nearly upon us. Statistics on language viability are very hard to come by. This is partly because in some parts of the world we hardly know what languages are spoken, let alone how viable each is, and partly, perhaps even more, because governments generally favor one language over another and have reason not to provide figures for nonfavored languages. Or, if they do so at all, for various reasons

Abstract: This paper reports on the results of a detailed empirical study of word order correlations, based on a sample of 625 languages. The primary result is a determination of exactly what pairs of elements correlate in order with the verb and object. Some pairs of elements that have been claimed to correlate in order with the verb and object do not in fact exhibit any correlation. I argue against the Head-Dependent Theory (HDT), according to which the correlations reflect a tendency towards consistent ordering of heads and dependents. I offer an alternative account, the Branching Direction Theory (BDT), based on consistent ordering of phrasal and nonphrasal elements. According to the BDT, the word order correlations reflect a tendency for languages to be consistently right-branching or consistently left-branching.*

Abstract: This important handbook, with chapters written by leading experts in their fields, is concerned with the integration of verbal and nonverbal features in communication. Not just a collection of readings, it examines "how" verbal and nonverbal systems in communication "work." Contributions combine solid reviews of the current research and findings as well as important theoretical and practical problems, with suggestions for future directions of research in the study of language and its use.

Abstract: 1. Preface 2. I. Theory of Contextualization 3. Introduction: John Gumperz' Approach to Contextualization (by Auer, Peter) 4. Contextualization Revisited (by Gumperz, John J.) 5. The Indeterminancy of Contextualization: When Is Enough Enough? (by Silverstein, Michael) 6. II. Gesture and Other Visible Behaviour 7. Context, Activity and Participation (by Goodwin, Charles) 8. Gesture's Discreet Tasks: Multiple Relevancies in Visual Conduct and in the Contextualisation of Language (by Heath, Christian) 9. Comments (by Hinnenkamp, Volker) 10. Previews: Gestures at the Transition Place (by Streeck, Jurgen) 11. The return Gesture: Some Remarks on Context, Inference, and Iconic Gesture (by Fornel, Michel de) 12. III. Prosody 13. Gendered Contexts (by Cook-Gumperz, Jenny) 14. Theatrical Moments: On Contextualizing Funny and Dramatic moods in the Course of Telling a Story in Conversation 15. Comments (by Gunthner, Susanne) 16. Intonation as a Contextualization Device: Case Studies on the Role of Prosody, Especially Intonation, in Contextualizing Story Telling in Conversation (by Selting, Margret) 17. Comments (by Schwitalla, Johannes) 18. Continuing and Restarting (by Local, John) 19. Contextualizing Relevance: On Some Forms and Functions of Speech Rate Changes in Everyday Conversation (by Uhmann, Susanne) 20. Contextualizing Discourse: The Prosody of Interactive Repair (by Couper-Kuhlen, Elizabeth) 21. They Know All the Lines: Rhythmic Organization and Contextualization in a Conversational Listing Routine 22. Index

Abstract: A theory is proposed that unites the universal locative paradigm consisting of the predicate locative, the existential, and the 'have' predication. This is accomplished by deriving all three from a single underlying structure in which a preposition is the head of the predicate phrase. The existential and the 'have' structure, both having a derived locative subject, are differentiated from the predicate locative by the definiteness effect. 'Have' predications of various kinds, including those with 'have' copulas, are claimed to differ from existentials because their locative constituent contains a [+human] argument. Apparently disparate facts from many languages are accounted for and a general explanation is offered for the distinction between a 'have' copula and a 'be' copula.* 1. INTRODUCTION. Much of the excitement in modern syntax lies in discovering that a certain variety of surface structures is reducible to the interaction of a single underlying structure and independently established principles. In this paper I propose such a reduction, in a completely new generative analysis of locative predications. I will argue that expressions like those in 1 and 2 are all derived from a single and maximally simple abstract syntactic structure (Dstructure).'1

Abstract: On the prevailing view of ultimate attainment in second language acquisition, native competence cannot be achieved by postpubertal learners. The present study offers convergent experimental evidence which suggests there are exceptions to this generalization. At the same time, early arrival in the host country—even if past puberty—correlates with attainment of native norms on a variety of measures. Also investigated are the loci of competence differences in the syntax of the target language (French). Contrary to findings by Coppieters 1987, experimental performance is not predicted by the status of a given linguistic variable as within or outside the theoretical domain of Universal Grammar.

Abstract: WINTER 1991 93 ing primarily through the work of Philip Cohen, C. Raymond Perrault, and James Allen (Cohen and Perrault 1979; Allen and Perrault 1980; Perrault and Allen 1980). In their work, plan recognition was applied to the processing of dialogues (particularly those between a customer and a ticket clerk at a railway station). Programs were developed that reasoned from the explicit utterances of the customer and from facts about the situation to the goals of the customer and then to the formulation of an appropriate response. This reasoning could lead to better responses, as in the following case: Patron: When does the Montreal train leave? Clerk: 3:15 at gate 7. Here, the clerk adds the information about the gate number to the response explicitly requested (Allen and Perrault 1980). This review is organized around three of the themes that are sounded in Intentions in Communication: (1) foundational work on intention and its relation to speech act theory, (2) the problems of group intentions, and (3) intentions and plan recognition. The last theme is the topic closest to my heart. My biases and the constraints of space dictate some omissions in this review. One theme sounded by the collection that is skirted is the relationship of truth-conditional semantics to speech act theories that rely on notions of intention. Two other papers that have to go without critical comment are Janet Pierrehumbert and Julia Hirschberg’s paper on intonation and Herbert Clark and Deanna Wilkes-Gibbs’s paper on reference. I am not qualified to evaluate either of these papers.

Abstract: Analyse des problemes poses par l'emploi du passe compose en anglais, et proposition d'une contrainte pragmatique

Abstract: From what I have been able to learn, based on the model of early-modern and contemporary hunting and gathering and mobile agricultural peoples, the process of language loss throughout most of human history, i.e. the period prior to the development of large states and empires, has been attended by a period of grammatical merger in situations of multilingualism, in geographically con- fined areas, and among quite small communities-as, for example, in parts of Arnhem Land and Cape York Peninsula, Australia, and in the bilingual Sumu and Miskitu communities of Central America. By contrast, language loss in the modern period is of a different character, in its extent and in its implications. It is part of a much larger process of LOSS OF CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY in which politically dominant languages and cultures simply over- whelm indigenous local languages and cultures, placing them in a condition which can only be described as embattled. The process is not unrelated to the simultaneous loss of diversity in the zoological and botanical worlds. An eco- logical analogy is not altogether inappropriate. We understand to some extent the dangers inherent in the loss of biological diversity on this earth. It is correct t (Editor's note: In November 1989, as an outgrowth of discussions with Colette Craig and Ken Hale, I asked them as well as LaVerne Masayesva Jeanne and Nora England to consider writing brief essays on the topic of 'responsible linguistics' for publication in Language. Since this theme is closely related to the topic of the 1991 LSA Endangered Languages symposium organized by Hale, other speakers at the symposium were also invited to contribute to the collection presented here-namely, Michael Krauss and Lucille Watahomigie & Akira Yamamoto. The message of these essays is urgent and vital; I urge all linguists to study them carefully. Ken Hale collected and edited the entire set of essays, and he deserves the profession's gratitude for carrying out this project.) * I wish to express my gratitude to my co-authors for their contributions to this collection and to the field; to Marilyn Goodrich for her help in preparing the manuscript; and, especially, to the many speakers of endangered languages with whom I have worked.

Abstract: Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Theoretical assumptions 2. Extraposition from NP 3. Stylistic inversion 4. NP shift 5. English focus constructions Notes References Index of names Index of subjects.

Abstract: This text presents a variety of approaches to text description that have been proposed in the linguistic literature in the last decade or so. The book is organized to make it easy to understand and compare the various approaches. Since all the researchers are analyzing the same text their differences are readily seen. The text they analyze is a letter, mailed in bulk by a Washington-based lobbying organization which is supported by contributions from donors. Far from simply informing the readers, the letter seeks to appeal to them on many levels, intellectual, emotional and financial.

Abstract: 1. Editor's introduction 2. I. The theory 3. A synopsis of role and reference grammar (by Van Valin Jr., Robert D.) 4. II. Applying the theory 5. Semantic and syntactic factors in control (by Cutrer, L. Michelle) 6. Serial verbs and complement constructions in Mandarin: A clause linkage analysis (by Hansell, Mark) 7. Subordination and cosubordination in Nootka: Clause combining in a Polysynthetic verb-initial language (by Jacobsen, Jr., William H.) 8. Preposition assignment in English (by Jolly, Julia A.) 9. On deviant case-marking in Latin (by Michaelis, Laura A.) 10. Argument linking in English derived nominals (by Nunes, Mary L.) 11. On the syntactc and semantic alignment of attributive and identificational constructions (by Schwartz, Linda) 12. Of nominatives and datives: universal grammar from the bottom up (by Silverstein, Michael) 13. Predicting syntactic structure from semantic representation: Remember in English and its equivalents in Mparntwe Arrernte (by Van Valin Jr., Robert D.) 14. An investigation of Turkish clause linkage (by Watters, James K.) 15. Topics index 16. Language index

Abstract: The Contributions to the Sociology of Language series features publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings and applications. It addresses the study of language in society in its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches - theoretical and empirical - supplement and complement each other. The series invites the attention of scholars interested in language in society from a broad range of disciplines - anthropology, education, history, linguistics, political science, and sociology. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher.

Abstract: Most Mayan languages are 'basically' predicate-initial, but various phrases occur before the predicate when they are focussed or topicalized. This paper assumes the framework of Chomsky 1986 and presents a phrase-structural analysis of topic and focus for three Mayan languages (Tzotzil, Jakaltek, Tz'utujil). Three distinct entities are distinguished: the focus and two types of topic, termed here 'internal' and 'external'. Each is argued to occupy a distinct structural position. At the heart of the analysis is an account of intonational phrasing and the distribution of several intonational phrase clitics in Tzotzil and Jakaltek. An algorithm is proposed for deriving intonational phrase structure from surface structure. Syntactic evidence further supports the phrase-structural differences established on prosodic grounds.

Abstract: A theme running through much of the functionalist literature in linguistics is that grammatical structure, to a considerable degree, has an 'iconic' motivation This theme can be distilled into three rather distinct claims: (1) iconic principles govern speakers' choices of structurally available options in discourse; (2) structural options that reflect discourse-iconic principles become grammaticalized; (3) grammatical structure is an iconic reflection of conceptual structure After presenting numerous examples from the functionalist literature in support of the idea that iconicity is widespread in language, I argue that claim (1) is irrelevant to generative grammar; claim (2), if correct, poses no challenge to generative grammar, despite a widespread belief to the contrary; and claim (3) has literally been built into standard versions of generative grammar I go on to discuss the implications of iconic relations in language for the autonomy hypothesis and, at a more speculative level, for the evolution of language

Abstract: The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

Abstract: This study examines referent introductions in narratives produced by French children of 6, 9, and 11 years in two situations where they either could or could not assume mutual knowledge. In one sit...

Abstract: 1. Introduction (by Kent, Raymond D.) 2. 1. Scaling procedures for the measurement of speech intelligibility (by Schiavetti, Nicholas) 3. 2. An application of structural linguistics to intelligibility measurement of impaired speakers of English (by Bross, Rida S.) 4. 3. Acoustic and perceptual approaches to the study of intelligibility (by Weismer, Gary) 5. 4. The role of phonation in speech intelligibility: A review and preliminary data from patients with Parkinson's disease (by Ramig, L.O.) 6. 5. The intelligibility of English vowels spoken by British and Dutch talkers (by Flege, James Emil) 7. 6. Speech intelligibility in the hearing impaired: Research and clinical implications (by Osberger, Mary Joe) 8. 7. Intelligibility measurement as a tool in the clinical management of dysarthric speakers (by Yorkston, Kathryn M.) 9. 8. EPG-based description of apraxic speech errors (by Hardcastle, William J.) 10. 9. Prospects for neurophysiology approaches to the study of speech intelligibility (by Barlow, Steven M.) 11. Index

Abstract: Bridging Interdisciplinary Boundaries: The Case of Kin Terms.- Dracula Conditionals and Discourse.- Grammar and Memory.- The English Stress Cycle and Interlexical Relations.- Sentential Subjects and Proper Government in Chamorro.- The Logic and Functions of the English Past and Perfect.- The Autonomy of the (Syntactic) Lexicon and Syntax: Insertion Conditions for Derivational and Inflectional Morphemes.- Conditions on Propagation of Binding Scope.- Roles and Values: The Case of French Copula Constructions.- Remarks on Phrasing and Prosodic Attachment.- On Psych Predicates.- Wanna-Contraction as Restructuring.- On Suppletion, Selection, and Agreement.- Affirmative Polarity Items and Negation in Japanese.- KARE.- Modularity and Chinese A-not-A Questions.- Pied Piping and Logical Form.- Cleft Sentences and the Territory of Information.- Against Pied Piping in LF.- Binding Properties of French EN.- Remarks on Adverbial Constituent Structure.- The Logic of kara and node in Japanese.- MA.- Verbiness and the Size of Niches in the English Auxiliary.- Extraposition and Parasitic Gaps.- Infinity Is in the Eye of the Beholder.- On One's Own: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Reflexives.- Syntax and Downstep in Japanese.- Sentences in Texts: A Valediction for Sentence Topic.- The Cross-Linguistic Distribution of Adjective Ordering Restrictions.- Edges, Surfaces and Boundaries.- Argument Positions and Configurationality.- References.- Index of Names.- Index of Subjects.

Abstract: 1. Introduction (by Payne, Doris L.) 2. Is basic word order universal? (by Mithun, Marianne) 3. Basic word order in two "free word order" languages (by Hale, Kenneth L.) 4. The privilege of primacy: experimental data and cognitive explanations (by Gernsbacher, Morton Ann) 5. Information distribution in Ojibwa (by Tomlin, Russell S.) 6. Nonidentifiable information and pragmatic order rules in 'O'odham (by Payne, Doris L.) 7. Word order in Klamath (by Sundberg Meyer, Karen) 8. Word order and topicality in Nez Perce (by Rude, Noel) 9. Verb-subject order in Polish (by Jacennik, Barbara) 10. The pragmatics of word order variation in Chamorro narrative text (by Cooreman, Ann) 11. Word order and temporal sequencing (by Myhill, John) 12. Word order and discourse type: an Austronesian example (by Quakenbush, J. Stephen) 13. On interpreting text-distributional correlations: some methodological issues (by Givon, T.)

Abstract: The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

Abstract: L'auteur montre que la diversite des langues du monde est une richesse intellectuelle pour l'humanite

Abstract: 1. Contributors 2. Introduction (by Downing, Pamela A.) 3. I. Written Language and poken Language Compared 4. Variation in the intonation and punctuation of different adverbial clause types in spoken and written English (by Ford, Cecilia E.) 5. Information flow in speaking and writing (by Chafe, Wallace) 6. How is conversation like literary discourse? The role of imagery and details in creating involvement (by Tannen, Deborah) 7. Modern American poetry and modern American speech (by Berry, Eleanor) 8. II. Orthographic systems 9. Segmentalism in linguisitics: The alphabetic basis of phonological theory (by Aronoff, Mark) 10. The syllabic origin of writing and the segmental origin of the alphabet (by Daniels, Peter T.) 11. Phonemic segmentation as ephiphenomenon: Evidence from the history of alphabetic writing (by Faber, Alice) 12. Aspiration and Cherokee orthographies (by Scancarelli, Janine) 13. Interpreting Emai orthograpgic strategies (by Schaefer, Ronald P.) 14. Linguistic aspects of musical and mathematical notation (by McCawley, James D.) 15. III. The Psychology of Orthography 16. Orthographic aspects of linguistic competence (by Derwing, Bruce L.) 17. The costs and benefits of phonological analysis (by Ohala, John J.) 18. Morphological relationship revealed through the repetition priming task (by Feldman, Laurie Beth) 19. Orthography and phonology: The psychological reality of orthographic depth (by Frost, Ram) 20. A model of lexical storage: Evidence from second language learners' orthographic errors (by Cowan, J Ron) 21. IV. Consequences of literacy 22. Writing is a technology that restructures thought (by Ong, Walter J.) 23. Language Index 24. Author Index 25. Subject Index