Acknowledgements

I owe many thanks to people who became a part of this project. I would like to express special gratitude to Robin Queen for her enthusiasm about this project, for challenging me, for providing expertise, guidance, and support, and for believing that this dissertation will one day become a reality. I am also very thankful to the members of my dissertation committee, Deborah Keller-Cohen, Robert L. Kyes and Sarah G. Thomason for their insightful comments, feedback, and suggestions that made this dissertation possible. I would also like to mention the faculty and students of the Department of Linguistics who have contributed so much to my intellectual development throughout my years at the University of Michigan. I would like to thank Christine B. Feak and John M. Swales of the University of Michigan English Language Institute. Working with them has taught me a lot about writing, drafting, and revising, and about the ins and outs of turning an idea into a piece of finished work. This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous support fro