This paper explores the issues involved in the linguistic characterisation of disordered discourse and the ways in which a Systemic Functional Linguistic framework addresses these issues. For many years, language disorders were described in terms of formal grammars, with "breakdown" discussed in terms of one or more of the traditional levels of…

Three experiments explored the semantics of the mass-count distinction in young children and adults. In Experiments 1 and 2, the quantity judgments of participants provided evidence that some mass nouns refer to individuals, as such. Participants judged one large portion of stuff to be ''more'' than three tiny portions for substance-mass nouns…

Creating well constructed sentences is challenging for most writers. For less skilled writers, including writers with learning disabilities (LD), it can be even more difficult. These writers generally produce less syntactically complex sentences that contain more grammatical errors. They may also produce sentences that are shorter; have higher…

The acquisition of new skills over a life span is a remarkable human ability. This ability, however, is constrained by age of acquisition (AoA); that is, the age at which learning occurs significantly affects the outcome. This is most clearly reflected in domains such as language, music, and athletics. This article provides a perspective on the…

Surveys 12 types of syntactic ambiguity in written English. Gives the structural characteristics, their causes, and ways of resolving the ambiguity for each type. (EKN)

Discusses the types of structures that may follow a particular verb in English and attempts some generalization that may be helpful in the English as a second language classroom. (EKN)

This semantic analysis assumes the overall framework of an extended standard theory of grammar, focusing on the lexicon and making a case for semantic mapping. It assumes Chomsky's (1986) theory that the projection of a verb and its arguments into syntax is determined by its lexical specifications. It further accepts the arguments of Williams…

German offers a good example of how syntax meets the discursive needs of speakers/hearers and writers/readers. A pedagogic grammar should put the emphasis on the ways the foreign language conceptualizes reality and on the syntactic realization of those concepts for construction of discourse. (Author/MSE)

Discusses utterances that are evoked in particular events and demonstrates that they require a frame semantics account, and in particular, an analysis in terms of scripts. The article also reveals some word-like properties of these constructions and argues that boundedness is a matter of degree. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Presents a chart that explains the search syntax, features, and commands used by the 12 most widely used general Web search engines. Discusses Web standardization, expanded types of content searched, size of databases, and search engines that include both simple and advanced versions. (LRW)

A cognitive systems approach of linguistic knowledge is outlined. According to this view, linguistic knowledge or cognitive grammar is part of the coherent structure and function of a cognitive system that is able to process language. (97 references) (JL)

Discusses the kind of rhetorical questions that convey opposite assertive meanings, as in "who cares?" which imparts the meaning of nobody cares. For Chinese learning, rhetorical questions usually carry extra attitudinal meanings that their equivalent declaratives may not have. (Contains 13 references.) (JP)

Describes "need" as a semiauxiliary and marginal modal and as a full lexical verb in present-day British English from the syntactic, lexical, semantic, and pragmatic points of view. The descriptions given by grammars as well as examples in British-English texts are compared. (14 references) (Author/CFM)

Describes the development of a prototype system to analyze the ambiguity and complexity of cataloging rules to aid the quality control of cataloging standards. Highlights include AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition) rules, syntactic structure of rules, rule parsing, rule templates, relationships between rules, examples, and further…

Looks at two languages, one well known and the other less so, that have undergone changes in word order. Data for the two languages in question--English and Irish--are compared. Parallels in the internal mechanisms suggested for the attested word order changes in both Old English and Old Irish are examined critically. (Author/VWL)