This volume contains selected papers from the 27th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL-27), which was held at the University of California, Irvine, on February 20-22, 1997. The 22 papers deal with current issues in linguistic theory as they can be illuminated by the close analysis and comparative study of Romance languages. A majority of the articles tackles topics in syntax and semantics; the rest is divided among topics in language acquisition, phonology, morphology, and sociolinguistics. Among the well-represented Romance languages examined are (Old) French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.