Explains that semiology provides a broad perspective for analyzing the range of signs, their differences in form and function, along with the relative efficiency of different signs for different purposes and situations. Applies some general semiological notions to the printed page. (SR)

Cognitive neuropsychological studies of bilingual patients with aphasia have contributed to our understanding of how the brain processes different languages. The question we asked is whether differences in script have any impact on language processing in bilingual aphasic patients who speak languages with different writing systems: Chinese and…

Steps aside from conventional ideas about diagrams to examine how they work. Brings to bear ideas from a perceptual psychologist, a communication theorist, and a philosopher. Introduces the papers in this special issue as diagrams for worldmaking. (SR)

Reviews and discusses claims for, and objections to, the literal intelligence of computers and of documents. Topics discussed include contrasts between spoken language and written language; the Turing test, including linguistic responses to questions; the presence or absence of intentionality; and Plato's "Phaedrus" and its concern with…

The change of emphasis from the written product to writing as a process manifests another important change--one from logical to phenomenological consciousness. Phenomenologically speaking, writing is both "immanent" in the writer and "transcendent" outside the writer. It is thinking of general concepts that actually occurred…

Reconsiders the usual typologies of diagram presentations, questioning accepted taxonomies. Examines diagrammatic structures, revealing some hardened categories. Suggests that new discoveries can be made if questions are raised about how information is framed. (SR)

Considers four issues that arise from work on origin and evolution of writing: (1) the functions of writing, (2) influence of writing and writing systems on the writer, (3) role of writing topic on writing, and (4) writing and the decontextualization of knowledge. Also considers the implications of these issues for research on and the teaching of…

Discusses three principles germane to the idea that writing is a response to its function, compares school writing with home writing, and suggests specific functions of writing that are frequently used in classrooms. (DF)

Using Susanne Langer's concepts of presentational and discursive symbolism, constructs a theory of text production that describes presentation and discourse and relations between them as major components in the evolution of text from thought to written language. Concludes by examining the implications of this theory for understanding students'…

Reviews the psycholinguistic view of the relationship between reading and written and spoken language and presents teaching strategies for beginning readers based on this view. (FL)

There are descriptive similarities on a global level between the history of writing and the development of written language in the young child. Examination of the specific developmental patterns of data of these two phenomena reveals some common elements and some discrepancies between these two patterns. The history of orthography as well as…

Responds to an article appearing in an earlier issue of the journal that discussed the relationship between social-cognitive ability and writing skill. Reports on a study that investigated the relationship and found that social cognitive ability was more closely related to oral than to written performance. (FL)

Reports on a development in interactive Japanese at a new facility where lexicographical information can be viewed with full contextual information. This information is available for any word in the 65 texts incorporated in the course. This method of showing all the collocations of a word was implemented to help users monitor progress. (24…

By identifying speculations concerning cognitive abilities and cognition's relation to culture, this paper outlines some of the work surrounding basic writers and speaking-writing relationships. Beginning with a discussion of the differences between speaking and writing popularized by Mina Shaughnessy, the paper goes on to examine studies that…

The "cognitive clarity theory of reading" represents a resolution of the controversies about the relation between speech, writing, and reading. The work of M.A.K. Halliday suggests that learning to read and write is a natural extension of the "mathetic" speech functions, which consist of speech related to children's attempts to understand…