User James Grossmann

42 votes

9 answers

14k views

What is word order used for in "free word order" languages?

asked Feb 23, 2012 at 6:59

20 votes

8 answers

4k views

Are there any languages in which verbs are a closed class?

asked Jul 6, 2012 at 7:40

18 votes

1 answer

1k views

How do tone languages assign phonemic tones to loanwords from non-tone languages?

asked Apr 12, 2012 at 19:34

18 votes

1 answer

471 views

Are there any languages that don't permit instrumental subjects?

asked Apr 28, 2012 at 3:35

17 votes

4 answers

14k views

What are the chief advantages & disadvantages of describing sentences with dependency vs. phrase structure trees?

asked Mar 23, 2013 at 19:50

15 votes

2 answers

655 views

If two syllables in Mandarin have the same vowels but different tones, can the syllables be said to rhyme?

asked Jun 20, 2012 at 7:58

15 votes

7 answers

3k views

Are there any natural languages in which /ʂ/ and /ʃ/ are distinct phonemes?

asked Feb 12, 2022 at 17:50

14 votes

1 answer

5k views

How does vowel harmony typically arise in a language?

asked Aug 8, 2013 at 19:50

14 votes

3 answers

15k views

What is a mora?

asked Jun 20, 2012 at 7:10

13 votes

6 answers

2k views

Is there anything analogous to grammatical gender for verbs?

asked May 13, 2012 at 6:44

12 votes

3 answers

2k views

Can the word "said" be a determiner in written English?

asked Jun 20, 2012 at 3:45

12 votes

2 answers

318 views

Is there any evidence that modern telecommunication slows dialect differentiation?

asked Jun 26, 2013 at 4:20

12 votes

4 answers

3k views

Do languages change at different rates?

asked Jul 20, 2013 at 20:11

11 votes

3 answers

393 views

About how much does language typology correlate with genetic relationships among languages?

asked Apr 28, 2012 at 5:15

10 votes

2 answers

624 views

Is there a strong case for the existence of languages that lack a clear morpho-syntactic distinction between nouns and verbs?

asked Jun 14, 2012 at 2:59

10 votes

3 answers

2k views

How seriously do modern linguists take the idea of phonesthemes?

asked Dec 28, 2017 at 5:47

9 votes

2 answers

497 views

Are there any natural languages that mark the distinction between cataphoric and anaphoric pronouns?

asked Aug 29, 2013 at 4:03

9 votes

2 answers

3k views

Are "go" and "went" part of the same lexeme?

asked Sep 21, 2013 at 18:06

9 votes

3 answers

14k views

What's the difference between recursion and embedding?

asked Nov 10, 2013 at 9:20

9 votes

2 answers

402 views

Does the phrase "thinking in a language" have empirical meaning?

asked May 14, 2013 at 3:07

9 votes

4 answers

2k views

Are there languages without vowel reduction?

asked Aug 21, 2012 at 4:30

8 votes

1 answer

581 views

How do languages with imperfect aspect typically convey distinctions between habitual, iterative, and progressive aspects?

asked Mar 1, 2013 at 3:11

8 votes

2 answers

4k views

What are some of the disadvantages of learning a language through book-study as opposed to immersion?

asked Mar 29, 2013 at 3:58

8 votes

1 answer

510 views

What is permansive aspect?

asked May 13, 2012 at 7:09

8 votes

1 answer

484 views

What does the term "ontology" mean vis a vis the study of natural language?

asked Jul 1, 2012 at 4:31

7 votes

1 answer

1k views

What does the term "coercion" mean in the context of Cognitive Linguistics?

asked Apr 18, 2012 at 3:03

7 votes

2 answers

890 views

Why did generative linguists abandon the notion of kernel sentences?

asked Apr 19, 2012 at 9:03

7 votes

2 answers

445 views

Have very many linguists studied the structure of sentence fragments used in informal conversation?

asked Apr 3, 2012 at 3:46

7 votes

1 answer

391 views

What is the name of the grammatical aspect conveyed by the English auxiliary "keep"?

asked Jun 6, 2013 at 4:06

7 votes

1 answer

9k views

What is the difference between syllable-timing and stress-timing?

asked Aug 14, 2012 at 20:41

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158 Questions

What is word order used for in "free word order" languages?

Are there any languages in which verbs are a closed class?

How do tone languages assign phonemic tones to loanwords from non-tone languages?

Are there any languages that don't permit instrumental subjects?

What are the chief advantages & disadvantages of describing sentences with dependency vs. phrase structure trees?

If two syllables in Mandarin have the same vowels but different tones, can the syllables be said to rhyme?

Are there any natural languages in which /ʂ/ and /ʃ/ are distinct phonemes?

How does vowel harmony typically arise in a language?

What is a mora?

Is there anything analogous to grammatical gender for verbs?

Can the word "said" be a determiner in written English?

Is there any evidence that modern telecommunication slows dialect differentiation?

Do languages change at different rates?

About how much does language typology correlate with genetic relationships among languages?

Is there a strong case for the existence of languages that lack a clear morpho-syntactic distinction between nouns and verbs?

How seriously do modern linguists take the idea of phonesthemes?

Are there any natural languages that mark the distinction between cataphoric and anaphoric pronouns?

Are "go" and "went" part of the same lexeme?

What's the difference between recursion and embedding?

Does the phrase "thinking in a language" have empirical meaning?

Are there languages without vowel reduction?

How do languages with imperfect aspect typically convey distinctions between habitual, iterative, and progressive aspects?

What are some of the disadvantages of learning a language through book-study as opposed to immersion?

What is permansive aspect?

What does the term "ontology" mean vis a vis the study of natural language?

What does the term "coercion" mean in the context of Cognitive Linguistics?

Why did generative linguists abandon the notion of kernel sentences?

Have very many linguists studied the structure of sentence fragments used in informal conversation?

What is the name of the grammatical aspect conveyed by the English auxiliary "keep"?

What is the difference between syllable-timing and stress-timing?