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Universals, Methodology, and Instructional Intervention on Relative Clauses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2007

Shinichi Izumi
Affiliation:
Sophia University

Extract

This special issue has attempted to ascertain the universal applicability of the noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (NPAH; Keenan & Comrie, 1977) by extending previous research in this area, which has focused on English and a few other European languages, to East Asian languages. To this end, five empirical studies have been reported; these studies yielded mixed results with regard to their support for the NPAH. Overall, what is striking to me in these results is the fact that despite the expectation of some researchers to find robust counterevidence to the NPAH, many of these studies ended up finding at least partial support for the NPAH, even in East Asian languages.

Type
COMMENTARY
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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References

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