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…

Written and oral data were evaluated by native speaking judges to ascertain the extent to which they could identify the members of the same native language group on the basis of either phonological or syntactic evidence. Results are presented and other research data are examined to see if they support these findings. (SED)

Describes discourse development in the sign language of 24 profoundly deaf children. Findings indicate children were acquiring appropriate discourse strategies comparable to those used by hearing children in spoken conversations and adult deaf signers. (DF)

Considers whether scores on cloze items are generally sensitive to amounts of context in excess of 10 words on either side of them and, if not, when they are sensitive to long-range constraints. Concludes that some are sensitive to constraints that reach beyond 50 words on either side of a blank. (SED)

Describes the formation of the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES), a system formed to foster the sharing of computerized data on language acquisition. Details the governance of the system, the nature of the database, the shape of the coding conventions, and the types of computer programs being developed. (SED)

Uses both the findings of formal research studies and the observations of sensitive teachers to illustrate the power of language for helping children gain control over, and put their mark upon, their surroundings. (HTH)

Describes an experiment which tested the infant's sensitivity to the timing of the mother's responses by arranging a video system so that mother and baby each saw a full-face, life-size image of the other on a video screen. Results provide evidence for the infant's active role in interaction with adults. (SED)

Reports on interviews in representative areas of Galicia, Spain, with both open-ended and standardized items on usage of the minority language (Galician) and the official language (Spanish). The findings revealed that upper age, low social status, and rural residence were associated with minority language choice, and that during adolescence,…

A cross-sectional and a longitudinal study of two-year-old children was performed to investigate the developmental relationship between understanding differences in spatial point of view and correct comprehension and production of I/you pronouns. Results suggest that understanding spatial points of view is a cognitive prerequisite to understanding…

Discusses results of study that attempted to determine whether subject-auxiliary inversion occurs in yes-no questions before wh-questions and whether noninversion errors are characteristic feature of acquisition of wh-questions. Findings do not support previous claims that inversion is acquired in yes-no questions before wh-questions. Rather,…

Discusses the audio and video-recorded longitudinal data from six infants with varying degrees of vision. The findings indicate that there are basic differences in early language, which appear to reflect differences in cognitive development. (SL)

Discusses the findings of six studies that were undertaken to explore the phenomenon of semantic priming, questioning whether it is semantically or associatively based. Results indicated that the role of semantics in the priming process is somewhat limited. In addition, these results indicated that the amount of priming observed is somewhat task…

Discusses the differences in power among people of all societies, which are reflected by pronoun usage (or other grammatical indications) or, in the case of English, by some other linguistic means. Since English can no longer distinguish solidarity and power by means of pronouns, it relies on the use of first names and titles to accomplish the…

Although second language pedagogy has tended increasingly toward simulation, role-playing, and natural communication, it has not profited from existing research on natural learning in second languages. The emphasis should be on understanding how the processes of guided learning and natural learning differ, psychologically and sociologically, and…

Examines the development of children's knowledge about the presuppositions of cognitive verbs that take sentential complements. Results indicate that the presuppositions of the factives "know,""forget," and "remember" and the nonfactive "think" are not learned until age four. "Believe," which has factive and nonfactive properties, is mastered…