The results demonstrate a use of semantic information to circumvent an item-by-item search of memory. Similar results have been obtained in the fact-retrieval paradigm of long-term memory. (PN)

Presents five principles for restructuring classroom activities to obtain a maximum amount of oral language. Claims that by expanding children's oral language, their semantic and syntactic cuing systems to print will also be strengthened. (FL)

Preschool- and kindergarten-age children's understanding of the distinct referential properties of collective and class nouns and the relationship between this understanding and performance in part-whole comparison tasks was examined in three experiments. Results indicate children understand the relationship between nouns and the sets to which…

Seeks to determine (1) whether 11- and 13-month-old infants directed their eye fixations to the referent of an object word said by the mother, and (2) whether there was a developmental shift in responding to object words at these two ages. Controls were set for response bias, stimulus preference, and maternal cuing. (Author/RH)

At the beginning of an introductory social psychology course, students were asked to rate their professor on a semantic differential scale. The results were compiled and used to generate questions about interpersonal perceptions, stereotypes, data collection, and the characteristics and limitations of social psychological research in general. (AM)

Examines recently coined American Sign Language signs to show how the ASL lexicon is expanded. Included are elicited signs for relatively new objects or ideas, signs referring to metalinguistics concepts in ASL, signs used as jargon or specialized vocabulary, and signs "invented" by young deaf children. (Author/PJM)

Analysis of the communicative skills of a nine-year-old deaf boy with minimal schooling showed pantomiming and gestures to be his major mode of communication. Certain semantic patterns prevailed. Use of left or right hand also had semantic correlates. Formal and idiosynacratic signs were discovered in the boy's vocabulary. (Author/PJM)

The repertory grid analyzed by new methods of computer analysis is a sensitive instrument allowing individuals to model any topic in terms of personal constructs. Useful computer programs include FOCUS, PEGASUS, MINUS, CORE, SOCIOGRIDS, and ARGUS. (Author)

The study investigated the responses of Chicanos, Blacks, and Anglos on the semantic differential to concepts related to sex and familial roles and to a series of questions related to sociocultural status. The overall pattern of results suggested that minority experience is more important than cultural experience in producing the observed…

The historical study of words, and particularly of the changes in their meanings, has two benefits. First, it can bring to light our recent and culture-bound perspective on the nature of language, and, secondly, the approach to language needs to be made with a perspective on the future rather than the past. (JN)

Analyzes the uses of the negation "ne" in a variety of contexts ranging from literary to standard spoken usage. Focuses especially on the semantic implications of certain uses of the negation in order to illustrate the notion of "visee" (aim) or underlying global meaning. (MES)

Discusses three experiments which investigated the role of convention and context in understanding indirect requests. Experiments 1 and 2 showed the wide variety of conventions used and how context determines conventionality. Experiment 3 showed how conventional requests take less time to process than nonconventional ones. (Author/PJM)

Tests the hypothesis that Latinate words are preferred to Anglo-Saxon words in formal instructions or tasks that vary in formality. Three experiments were done, each implementing varying degrees of formality. Situations that call out Latinate words must be unequivocally formal. (Author/PJM)

Discusses the importance of vocabulary acquisition in second language instruction, viewing it as central to the learning process. The interplay among words, meanings, and situations is considered, and various types of exercises are examined to determine when and how vocabulary can best be brought into focus. (MES)

Examines the problem of attempting to simplify official texts, with examples from the Netherlands' government. (AM)