Describes the inability of traditional subject index terms to represent relational information among concepts, and the development of frame based knowledge representation methods that provide relational semantic representations of documents and user queries. The discussion covers research in user interfaces and automatic document classifications,…

Reviews "The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition" by Margaret G. McKeown and Mary E. Curtis. Focuses on three questions involving vocabulary acquisition: (1) What does it mean to know the meaning of a word?; (2) How does knowledge about word meanings develop?; and (3) What is the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension? (MM)

Relationships between syntactic and semantic aspects of mothers' speech and infants' word acquisition was examined in 27 mother-infant dyads. Results indicated that the more the mother differentiated the complexity of her speech to child and adult, the earlier the child attained 20 words. The more the mother used adult-basic labels in her speech,…

Two articles describe a model for processing natural-language queries in information retrieval systems. Part I proposes a language interface based on fuzzy set techniques to handle the uncertainty inherent in natural-language semantics. Part II develops a model of the retrieval system and describes an implementation using a knowledge-based systems…

Investigates factors which condition deletion of plural /s/ in Peruvian Spanish. There is more /s/ deletion in plural forms than in monomorphemic forms. But 1,304 examples of plural /s/ from informal interviews with native speakers of Peruvian Spanish show plural marker tends to be retained when ambiguity would otherwise result. (Author/LMO)

The incidental memory of young children was tested for words or words plus pictures that were initially presented under orienting conditions. These conditions required responses to acoustic or semantic qualities of the stimuli and an affirmative or negative response to the orienting questions. (PCB)

Reviews literature pertaining to the subtle differences between the meanings of the particles "waw al-ma iyya" and "fa al-sababiyya," emphasizing their construction differences. (CB)

A comparative analysis of four studies that emphasized linguistic similarities (rather than differences) between nonstandard speakers and other groups focused on developmental characteristics of the semantic categories encoded by nonstandard speakers compared with other speakers. Implications for language assessment are discussed. (JW)

Examines epistemic modality in English, the kinds of qualification a basic statement like "he's right" undergoes when changed to "I think he's right" or "he must be right," and creates a structure for its analysis. Simple scales of modality are rejected and pedagogical implications are discussed. (MSE)

Argues that reading should be a significant portion of the foreign language student's experience but that, in order for the reading to be an occasion for comprehensible input, the text must be authentic, meaningful to students, and followed by questions which encourage reading for meaning. Gives examples of such questions. (SED)

A model for studying written language is described and illustrated in a written language sample of a 12-year-old with profound hearing impairment. Approaches are noted for analyzing semantic components, coherence, and causality. Implications for remediation are offered. (CL)

Claims that folk names of speech acts and speech genres are culture-specific and that a rigorous semantic analysis of such names, expressed in a culture-independent semantic metalanguage, can provide an important insight into communicative routines most characteristic of a given society. (SED)

In a comparative study of American English speakers and British English speakers, it was examined whether segmental effects can be used in speech production as cues to syntactic structure. American speakers could use the segmental cues in syntax perception, while British speakers could not. Speakers of British English who were long-term residents…

Fifty-seven teachers of French participated in an experiment which questioned to what extent filmstrips can be understood in terms of the specific language they try to convey. Results indicated that filmstrips can convey ideas that are situationally obvious, but they are largely unreliable as means of conveying specific language. (SL)

A method for developing and expanding basic French vocabulary by using a basic word list and derivation techniques is examined, and research on this approach is presented. (MSE)