The objective of the study was to test Bernstein's hypothesis concerning the use of adjectives and adverbs, with regard to the written mode in twelve- to thirteen-year-olds, and to test the assumption that more delicate linguistic measures as regards these two word classes will demonstrate further differences. The study, based on 572 Aberdeen school children's essays, did not confirm that such inter-class differences existed in the availability of adjectives and adverbs nor of any of the sub-categories of adjectives, i.e. in the availability of transformational rules in this sector of the language.
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