A three-month project in which a blind hearing adult learned manual communication techniques for the deaf is reported. The instructional methods and reactions of teacher and student are presented. Finger spelling proved more useful than American Sign Language for the blind person as it enabled the blind user to follow English syntax. (PMJ)

Discusses the problems in obtaining data for the error analysis of deviant speech. It is suggested that the only way to obtain reliable data is to compare the difference between utterances of handicapped subjects and the analyzer's expectations with the differences of non-handicapped subjects and the analyzer's expectations. (Author/AMH)

Reports on a study seeking to test French adult students' intuitive understanding of nuances in the structure "'etre' plus past participle" in their native language. (AM)

A computer program named TEXT-1 is intended for quantitative content analysis. Any text may be taken as input. The program provides frequencies of words, syllables, or letters in alphabetical order; frequencies of sentences, subordinate clauses, or quotations; and measures used in information theory. (Author/JKS)

The temporal order comprehension of 64 normal elementary students (grades 2, 4, 6, and 8) was measured in center-embedded and right-embedded clause sentences that described a specific order of events through the variation of verb tenses in each clause. (Author/CL)

Explores the hypothesis that the meaning of a word, especially a noun, relates directly to the types of relationships that the speaker has to the various referents that the word lets him construct, and that the referents have with their environment. Polysemic, metonymic, and metaphoric uses then tend to become confused with the actual lexical…

Discusses different kinds of discourse analysis and notes that they vary in their focus, claims, and techniques. Argues that the philosophical foundations of critical discourse analysis are open to serious question and that it relies on a naive sociological model involving an overambition undermining sound research. (72 references) (Author/CK)

The centrality of the notion of social identity to current work on language learning reflects a renewed theoretical and political concern for the social dimension of language learning. Discusses the ways in which current work in this area involves conflicting points of view or misses the opportunity to connect with other relevant work. (JL)

Investigates the comprehension of combined concepts (such as "peeled apple") in discourse through four experiments by having people verify features that were true of the phrase. Discusses experiments and results. Argues against a compositional model of conceptual combination in which both the modifier and head noun are accessed…

Includes a response to an article written previously on what a postmodernist perspective might do for second language acquisition research and a comment by the author of the original article reacting to the response. (Author/VWL)

Responds to Ellis (2002), which suggests the statistical structure of the linguistic environment is a crucial and relatively neglected variable in language learning. This approach makes three assumptions about cognition and language learning that are not universally shared. Describes a distributed, instance-based approach that retains key features…

Responds to a study that examined three hypotheses concerning the existence of a critical period for second language acquisition. Examines the three hypotheses and argues that the data do not provide the necessary support for the interpretation that a critical period has influenced the results. (Author/VWL)

Explores the outcome of a publicly-funded research project titled "Redesign of the British Sign Language (BSL) Notation System with a New Font for Use in ICT." The aim of the project was to redesign the British Sign Language variant of Stokoe notation for practical use in information technology systems and software, such as lexical…

Discusses research on language contact according to political philosophy. Elucidates many of the approaches to the determination of linguistic rights possible within a normative theory. (Author/VWL)

Examines the Spanish imperative paradigm and Ramsey's notion that all forms of Spanish imperatives are substituted by subjunctives in the first and third person. The concept of deontic modality in demonstrating the relationships among imperative and imperativelike patterns that carry the meaning of obligation, permission, and prohibition is also…