The generalisation of linguistic constructions is performed through analogical reasoning. Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) are impaired in analogical reasoning and in generalisation. However, these processes are improved by an input involving variability and similarity. Here we investigated the performance of children with or…

Isomorphism and homomorphism appear throughout abstract algebra, yet how algebraists characterize these concepts, especially homomorphism, remains understudied. Based on interviews with nine research-active mathematicians, we highlight new sameness-based conceptual metaphors and three new clusters of metaphors: sameness/formal definition, changing…

The aim of this paper is to analyse the reasoning and symbolisations used by sixth grade Moroccan students in solving a task based on figurative patterns. Our analysis aims at identifying the systems of actions elaborated by the students to give the general expression of the sequence, according to their perceptions of the sequence of its patterns.…

Background: Analogical mapping is a domain-general cognitive process used notably in language development, and particularly in the abstraction of construction schemas. Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) display an impairment in linguistic productivity and creativity, which can be linked to a lack of generalization of construction…

This article hypothesizes that one of the reasons for Chinese EFL learners' rigid use of nominalization and insufficient use of hedging in academic writing can be attributed to the unclear understanding of the relationship between these two expressions. The aim of the research is to first prove and then explain the possible co-occurrence of…

Students of English language can benefit their learning from translating English novels which can be found easily everywhere. Since many of those novels contain sexual languages, students need to be exposed on how to deal with taboo, vulgar and harsh languages. This research investigated how to produce a good and qualified translation of taboo,…

Urban college students (n=179) from diverse cultural backgrounds and regions received instruction in the writing of short narratives, or allegories, to express generalizations about human behavior. At the beginning of the three-month semester students were given samples of allegories concluding with a lesson and then were asked to create an…

Researchers have shown that children with autism have difficulty with non-literal language, such as irony, sarcasm, deception, humor, and metaphors. To date, few studies have attempted to remediate these deficits, and no studies of which we are aware have attempted to teach children with autism to understand metaphors. Metaphorical reasoning…

Semantic roles are a critical aspect of linguistic knowledge because they indicate the relations of the participants in an event to the main predicate. Experimental studies on children and adults show that both groups use associations between general semantic roles such as Agent and Theme, and grammatical positions such as Subject and Object, even…

Four nine year olds with mild mental retardation received training on the meaning of idiomatic phrases. All children demonstrated learning and an ability to understand the learned idioms when presented in unfamiliar contexts. Children were able to generalize their receptive learning to an expressive task with varying levels of success. (Author/JDD)