Four experiments examined three- and four-year olds' interpretations of novel words applied to familiar objects in the sentence frame "This Y is X," where X is a novel word and Y is a familiar count noun. Results indicated that preschoolers understood that the novel words were either proper names or adjectives/mass nouns. (MDM)

Discusses the place of math, mathematicians, and math education in society. Argues that the United States needs a better integration of numbers and sense, an active integration of math and semantics ("mathsemantics"), and a new outlook in which people ask and know what the numbers mean. (SR)

The relationship between prototype meanings and frequency of use is investigated with a view to establishing a foundation for the problem of "prototype acquisition." One polysemous basic verb, "put," is used in this study of native speaker discourse, and implications for both prototype theory and the acquisition of polysemy are…

Results of an empirical study of the learners' language of a group of Chinese language students show that topic-controlled deletion is a prominent feature in Chinese that is distinctly different from English and that it may result in English speakers' difficulty in forming Chinese topic chains. (nine references) (LB)

In a discussion of grammatical identity of a Chinese word, the following topics are covered: word identification, word constituents, word properties, intraword structures, and interword constraints. (20 references) (LB)

Describes the hyperterm system REALIST (Retrieval Aids by Linguistics and Statistics) with emphasis on its semantic component, which generates term relations from free-text input. Experiments with various similarity measures are discussed, and the quality of the associated terms is evaluated using term recall and term precision measures. (22…

Describes a method based on Bayesian networks for searching hypertext systems. Discussion covers the use of Bayesian networks for structuring index terms and representing user information needs; use of link semantics based on constrained spreading activation to find starting points for browsing; and evaluation of a prototype system. (64…

Discusses the possessive, existential, and locational usages of the Mandarin Chinese verb "you3," arguing for the formulation of a single lexical entry of the verb within lexical-functional grammar and demonstrating the similarities between English idiom chunks and you3 expressions. (20 references) (Author/CB)

Interactive Semantic Mapping is presented as an interactive instructional strategy developed from multiple theoretical bases to aid reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities. It involves students in predicting relationships among concepts and sharing knowledge to facilitate comprehension of text-related concepts. This article…

Analysis of young children's comprehension of common idioms revealed a significant linear trend for children to make more literal responses with increasing age. Children did not find the story contexts helpful in interpreting the idioms. A range of comprehension scores was found among the individual idioms, but semantic transparency was not…

Three experiments involving 102 college students examined the impact of knowledge map configuration on acquisition of information. Variations in spatial configuration, map format, and link structure affected encoding and retrieval of information. These effects were mediated by the users' spatial and verbal abilities. (SLD)

Examines a number of techniques and strategies in the foreign-language classroom likely to encourage acquisition through formation of associations, in particular semantic networking systems, that exist in the native speaker's mental lexicon. (GLR)

Reports on a study of a normally developing boy who made pronominal errors for about 10 months. Comprehension and production data clearly indicate that the child persistently made pronominal errors because of semantic confusion in the use of first- and second-person pronouns. (28 references) (GLR)

Discusses hypertext and describes three abstract models that represent different levels in the design-decision process necessary for effective hypertext development. The use of information management software is discussed; combining hypertext and information retrieval models is considered; and opportunities for hypertext are described, including…

Examination of a range of cross-linguistic generalizations leads to the view that grammar is primarily shaped by the entire range of cognitive, social, and interactional factors involved in language use. Specific grammatical phenomena are discussed that support the view that grammatical regularities arise because of certain strategies people use…