Derived clusters in Northern East (NE) Cree are traditionally assumed to result from the deletion of an intervening vowel. I propose, rather, that they arise from vowel devocalization, a process involving gradient vowel shortening or weakening. First, I demonstrate the compelling similarity between the process leading to derived clusters in NE Cree and vowel devocalization in non-Algonquian languages. Second, I show that consonants in NE Cree derived clusters display phonetic lengthening, one of the phonetic correlates accompanying vowel devocalization. I suggest that the gestures of these lengthened consonants overlap the vowel to the point that it is not perceived

Even though null definite objects are usually ungrammatical in English, they are widely used in certain special registers. This paper investigates object drop in the recipe and, to a lesser extent, match broadcasting registers in English, contributing an analysis of a substantial set of naturally occuring data, hence making it possible to verify observations from previous syntactic studies of the phenomenon, which were based on a restricted array of isolated sentences. Having shown that the data support the assumption that the unrealised object is syntactically active, I propose a novel analysis of missing objects in special registers, guided by recent developments in the generative linguistic theory. Null realisation of the object is considered as an issue of externalisation and intralinguistic variation is attributed to the rules operating at the SM interface which make it possible to extend the application of copy deletion, as assumed within the copy theory of movement

Cet article propose une analyse comparée des styles conversationnels des néerlandophones et des francophones de Belgique tels qu'ils se présentent dans déux debats télévisés comparables diffusés sur les deux chaînes de télévision publiques beiges (l'une néerlandophone, l'autre francophone). L'étude des marqueurs discursifs fonctionnant comme «ouvreurs» ainsi que I'étude de la gestion des tours de parole, et notamment des chevauchements, font apparaître un style plus pondéré pour les néerlandophones et aussi plus hésitant et plus consensuel que le style francophone, les données pour le français confirmant ainsi ce qui a déjà été observé pour le style conversationnel des locuteurs franàais (de France).

This squib contributes to the literature on intrusive-be constructions in English, examples of which appear in (1). Notably, there are two main sub-types, commonly referred to as double-be (la) and single-be (lb) constructions, which together have been termed intrusive-be constructions (Massam 2013). In this squib, we focus on double-be constructions, in which two instances of be (bel and be2) appear adjacent to each other as in (la), and we examine the tense and agreement forms that be can take in such constructions.