Discusses the role connectionism plays in the development of cognitive theories and in the explanation of linguistic phenomena inherent in second language acquisition (SLA). Presents a critical look at some existing connectionist models of language functions with a focus on the need for a general cognitive model of SLA that integrates research in…

Using a system based on standard augmented transition network (ATN) parsing approach, this report describes a technique for the rapid development of natural language parsing, called High-Level Grammar Specification Language (HGSL). The first part of the report describes the syntax and semantics of HGSL and the network implementation of each of its…

Presents an algorithm for use in natural language document retrieval systems which automatically determines if the conjunction "and" in a statement representing an information need should be translated into a Boolean "and" or "or." The results of an experiment that used the algorithm are reported, and further research is suggested. (CLB)