Examines the proposition that second language (L2) lexical forms are often mapped to the existing semantic content of their first language translations rather than to new semantic specifications of their own. Native and Nonnative English speakers were asked to perform two semantic judgment tasks in which they had to determine the degree of…

Describes the Case Hierarchy, a model of the case system of unconstrained natural language, and ways in which the case system is specialized in a restricted domain. Results of a feasibility study which examined the utility of the Case Hierarchy and the Case Hierarchy Tool (an intelligent editor supporting the domain analysis process) are…

Analyzes inter-dialect contact at the lexical level among the four largest Hispanic groups in New York City and investigates whether each group maintained its country's regional lexicon, assimilated that of the city's largest Spanish speaking group or the most prestigious variety, or produced another, "New Yorker Spanish" lexicon. (37…

Describes a follow-up study of 25 boys who had been diagnosed with Specific Expressive Language Delay (SELD) at 24 to 30 months of age. At three to four years, half of the boys continued to exhibit poor expressive language skills, suggesting that young children diagnosed with SELD are at considerable risk for continuing language problems. (33…

Discusses Polish Christmas carols from historical and linguistic perspectives, and suggests that they provide insight into Polish culture and customs. (24 references) (Author/OD)

Long's article "Inside the Black Box" postulated that what happens inside the classroom is the most important factor in student performance. Here, Long's findings are reexamined, the benefits of more naturalistic inquiry are discussed, and a balanced qualitative and quantitative approach toward classroom foreign language learning research is…

Provides an overview of recent advances in the study of the psychology of question answering, with particular emphasis on the ability to answer questions about coherent spoken and written messages. Examines the components of question answering, employing strategies, memory search, and comparison operations. (SR)

Describes two related experiments into the effect of prereading on the text comprehension of a population of second-language (L2) learners at three proficiency levels. Indicates that the more constraining, schemata-provision formats used in experiment one are more effective as aids to text comprehension. (MG)

Investigates the psychological representation of visual-gestural languages from a cross-linguistic perspective. The perception of signers of American and Chinese Sign Languages is analyzed. (27 references) (Author/VWL)

An examination of second-language acquisition research assumptions argues that second language data are important to understanding the nature of language. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence relating to language universals indicates that research must consider how disparate facts of language are conceptually related…

States that Computer Assisted Language Instruction (CALI) software should be developed as an interactive natural language processing system. Describes artificial intelligence and proposes a model for intelligent CALI software (MICALI). Discusses MICALI's potential and current limitations due to the present state of the art. (Author/LS)

Recounts the history of interest in developing Esperanto as a lingua franca for international law and diplomacy, beginning with Zamenhof's development of Esperanto and proceeding through the development of a lexicon for the language and through its application to legal issues. Prospects for the future of Esperanto are discussed. (DJD)

A review of the acquisition of second-language phonology focuses on the following areas: (1) the various factors that have been found to influence the acquisition process, and (2) a discussion of topics in the phonological description of the learner language. (46 references) (GLR)

Argues for a shift in emphasis in the investigation of universals in second-language acquisition. To construct a psycholinguistically plausible theory of acquisition, research must proceed simultaneously on the elaboration of several theories regarding computation consistent with human biology, structural universals and variation, meaning, and…

Discusses prominent base units of discourse analysis designed for dealing with structural characteristics of second-language discourse, and offers arguments in favor of selecting the utterance as a valuable base unit. (95 references) (GLR)