A collection of articles from "The Language of Man" series is presented which describe the ways in which we think and act. The articles deal with semantics, the language of advertising, language and race, and language and politics; they are augmented by humorous features, examples from real life, and graphics. The style is informal. The book is…

This study was undertaken to test the validity of Neuringer and Lettieri's hypothesis (suicide as a result of a life style versus suicide as an acute reaction to problem situations) about the relationship between suicidal behavior, state and cognitive style. (Author/RK)

This article consists of a practical semantic explanation of the embedding process in French and English, and outlines a methodology devised to facilitate the teaching of this process. (CLK)

After discussing the nature and application of the word "semiology" (or semiotics) and briefly reviewing research in semiotics, this article examines the issue of whether or not semiotics can be considered an independent discipline. Available from Les Presses de l'Universite du Quebec, C.P. 250, Succursale N, Montreal, Canada H2X 3M4. (Text is in…

This paper examines what devices a speaker of English uses to produce continuous language, and how such devices are used in English. (CLK)

Describes a program for understanding and generating natural language which handles paragraph-length imput. Its core, "preference semantics," a system of preferential choice between deep semantic patterns, is contrasted with: (1) syntax-oriented linguistic approaches, and (2) theorem-proving approaches to understanding. Available from…

This article discusses the notion of the scope of quantifiers in natural language. Previous studies are reviewed, and three factors essential to understanding scope are isolated: inherent characteristics of the quantifier, its grammatical function in a sentence, and serial distribution of predominance. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Misinformation and ambiguity as features of social communication in Northern Thai villages are examined. The questions of how well Northern Thai villagers understand each others' verbal communications, and how accurate their statements actually are, are considered. (Author/RM)

A context-sensitive, generative lexical rule model is developed that is capable of overcoming the insufficiencies of both the transformationalist and the lexicalist approaches to work formation, e.g., semantic-syntactic asymmetry, metaphoric usage, and restricted rule productivity. (DB)

In two experiments, subjects verified 15 bird and 15 tool names on a list coming under either the category bird/tool (second hierarchical level [L2] of verification) or the category animate/inanimate (fourth hierarchical level [L4] verification). Subjects recalled fewer words following the L4 than the L2 verification. (Author/RM)

Since efforts to purify usage are fruitless, students should be taught to deal with the meanings in language as it is used.

Recommends, for English teaching at advanced levels, equating English participial constructions with German participial constructions rather than with paraphrases, in order to develop an analytic approach on the part of the student. (IFS/WGA)

This study examined the sensitivity of adult second language learners to deviance in English sentences. The subjects were 18 Egyptian, Arabic-speaking students attending classes at the English Language Institute of the American University in Cairo. (Author/CFM)

Describes how to use the "Make a Wish" television series to stimulate student interest in the art of playing with language; includes a sample of student writing based on study of the series. (DD)