This paper offers an analysis of metalinguistic comparatives such as more dumb than crazy in which they differ from ordinary comparatives in the scale on which they compare: ordinary comparatives use scales lexically determined by particular adjectives, but metalinguistic ones use a generallyavailable scale of imprecision or ‘pragmatic slack’. To implement this idea, I propose a novel compositi...

Cross-linguistic research shows that some aspects of metalinguistic awareness are affected by characteristics of different writing systems. Users of writing systems that mark word boundaries (such as English) develop word awareness, while users of unspaced writing systems (such as Chinese) do not. Previous research showed that English-speaking users of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) have hi...

In this paper, we identify a paradigm of metalinguistic comparatives in Greek headed by the preposition para. Para clauses are lexically distinct from other comparatives clauses in Greek (headed by apo, apoti). Building on earlier intuitions, we propose a semantics of metalinguistic MORE as a contrast between two propositions in terms of how appropriate of preferred they are by some individual....

The development of metalinguistic awareness, and specifically syntactic awareness, (here measured by age-related changes in the ability to judge and revise unacceptable sentences), reflects developmental changes in focus from semantic to syntactic properties of sentences. Previous research reported that children find judgements of word-order changes easier than morphological violations (Hakes, ...

Metalinguistic awareness (MLA) is a predictor of adult foreign language (FL) learning in instructed settings. Following Bialystok and Ryan (1985 Bialystok, E., & Ryan, E. (1985). Toward definition metalinguistic skill. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 31(3), 13–32. [Google Scholar]) two-component model MLA, we distinguish ML analysis as the ability to compare select items from control detect manipulat...

More than developing a study on punctuation, this paper intends to explore the uses of punctuation as window syntactic awareness or metasyntactic abilities. Different theoretical models identify several degrees conscious access linguistic knowledge and types metalinguistic verbalizations. The analysis canonical deviant in adult academic writing contributes characterization different awareness, ...