The psycholinguistic experiments reported here lead the author to the conclusion that there is a definite interdependence between semantic values and syntactic functions in the construction of sentences and that a satisfactory interpretation of syntactic encoding demands a consideration of the personality structure of the individual speaker.…

Discusses the theoretical foundation for Ferguson's correlation between speed in detecting syntactic errors in written English and acquisition of the listening comprehension skill. A detailed analysis of Ferguson's procedure is given along with references to other pertinent literature. The original conclusions are questioned. (AMH)