The "meaning through syntax" framework proposes lexical, decompositional representations of verb meaning. For several classes of verbs, the proposed representations have successfully predicted 2 types of data that pattern differently: the syntactic structures of sentences that are naturally produced by speakers and writers and the comprehension…

Processing language requires the retrieval of concepts from memory in response to an ongoing stream of information. This retrieval is facilitated if one can infer the gist of a sentence, conversation, or document and use that gist to predict related concepts and disambiguate words. This article analyzes the abstract computational problem…

Through recording the streaming x- and y-coordinates of computer-mouse movements, we report evidence that visual context provides an immediate constraint on the resolution of syntactic ambiguity in the visual-world paradigm. This finding converges with previous eye-tracking results that support a constraint-based account of sentence processing, in…

This study assesses reading processes and/or strategies needed to deploy deep processing that could push learners towards syntactic-based constructions in L2 classrooms. Research has found L2 acquisition to present varying degrees of success and/or fossilization (Bley-Vroman 1989, Birdsong 1992 and Sharwood Smith 1994). For example, learners have…

Arguments and examples are given to show that there are neither syntactic nor semantic justifications for a separation of the Spanish subjunctive into two types. (KM)

A semantic inventory, an organized network of observations on the lexical structure of Huichol, is presented. Each entry includes a name form or lemma, its pronunciation if not clear from the lemma form, part of speech, and examples to illustrate its range of inflections. The discussion of semantics begins with a syntactic framework for the…

THIS DOCUMENT COMPRISES REPORTS ON TWO TECHNIQUES USED IN SIX EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC PROCESSING OF AUDITORY, LINGUISTIC INPUTS. PAST RESEARCH HAS DEVELOPED THE "PROBE-LATENCY TECHNIQUE," THE FIRST OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES USED IN THIS RESEARCH, FOR ASSESSING THE STRUCTURE OF LINGUISTIC INPUTS. RESULTS TO…

In many cases machine-translation does not produce satisfactory results within the framework of purely formal (morphological and syntaxic) analysis, particularly, in the case of syntaxic and lexical homonomy. An algorithm for syntaxic-semantic analysis is proposed, and its principles of operation are described. The syntaxico-semantic structure is…

Highlights the customary arbitrariness with which the terms "syntax" and "semantics," and hence "understanding" are applied, and leads to a more systematic application of these concepts. The question of why one notation (grammar, syntax) is more useful than another is raised, and an answer is suggested. (Author/VT)

Presents an example of an analysis of the modals "pouvoir" and "devoir" in view of their representation within the framework of semantic syntax. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/AM)

The study investigated 14 school-age deaf children's responses to a listener's indication of communication breakdown and examined whether responses were related to syntactic or semantic abilities and/or typical mode of communication. Most revisions involved changes in sentence constituents. The frequency of revisions, repetitions, and no responses…

The article discusses acquisition of five aspects of English beyond the basic simple sentence (inflections and modulations of meaning, negation, passive sentences, coordination, and relative clauses) and considers implications for hearing impaired students. Ways in which syntax interacts with pragmatic and semantic factors are analyzed. (CL)

Study determined that complex sentences are recalled better if the described events within a sentence are presented in the same sequence as their correct temporal order''; the use of active vs. passive voice was not a factor in remembering the semantic content. (Author/SP)

Sixty middle class children (mean age 78.6 months) were tested to determine if recognition of identity precedes recognition of quantitative equivalence when dealing with quantities of liquids. When measuring conservation, the importance of two aspects of language (semantics and syntax) is stressed. (Author/AJ)

The measures of comprehension showed that four-fifths of the children scored lower than the 10th percentile for second-grade hearing children, and two-thirds scored at or below the 1st percentile. Evaluating production, 68 percent of the sentences produced by the children contained semantic, syntactic, or semantic-syntactic errors. (Author)