In recent years, online mass media has made a significant contribution to explaining events and how these events are interpreted and understood by the public. One of them is the incident regarding the case of public officials with a lifestyle of hedonism (those familiar with corrupt behavior). The purpose of this study is to examine the image of…

In this dissertation, I address two outstanding questions regarding how linguistic and extra-linguistic information are brought together in the interpretation of language situated within a discourse. The first part of this dissertation experimentally addresses how alternatives invoked by sentences containing the focus-sensitive operator 'only' are…

Vocabulary is an indispensable part of language and it is of vital importance for second language learners. Wilkins (1972) points out: "without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." Vocabulary teaching has experienced several stages characterized by grammatical-translation method, audio-lingual…

In this article, we provide a framework for analyzing and interpreting sources that inform a literature review or, as it is more aptly called, a research synthesis. Specifically, using Leech and Onwuegbuzie's (2007, 2008) frameworks, we delineate how the following four major source types inform research syntheses: talk, observations,…

This article proposes an instance-based theoretical framework to account for the influence of both contexts and definitions on learning new word meanings and reports 2 studies that examine hypotheses about learning from context. One is that variation in contexts is important for allowing core meaning features of a word to emerge. The second is…

Conscious of the importance of enhancing semantics at higher levels, this paper proposes the use of componential analysis to increase students' awareness of different shades of meaning (Gairns & Redman 1986). First, it briefly reviews componential analysis theory, as well as its criticisms and possible applications. Then, with the help of the…

This paper uses the Russian language to show that polysemantic words are one of the means of linguistic synonymy and can be used in synonymy and can be used in synonymous and quasisynonymous transformations of sentences. (CK)

An essay on the Spanish word "vaina," which originally meant "sheath,""scabbard,""pod" or "husk," but which in several Latin American countries now translates as "nuisance," or "bother." (Text is in Spanish.) (CK)

This paper outlines an approach to the study of internal state words and their use in conversation. The first section of the paper deals with the basic categories of words involved, discussing and illustrating theoretical and practical problems in defining critical components and boundaries for the class of internal state words as a whole and then…

Formal semantic analysis appears to be capable of handling certain cases where kin terms appear to cover an illogical assortment of relatives, an assortment which constitutes a disjunctive class. Two examples are the kin terms "ngaraija" and "tjilja," used by the Njamal, an Australian tribe. (CFM)

This paper reports three experiments that test the Presupposition-Denial account of complement set reference. According to the theory, complement set focus arises when focus is on the difference between the amount conveyed by a natural language quantifier and a large presupposed amount. We call this difference the shortfall. In this paper, what is…

Different theories of semantic fields are discussed and different types of semantic fields explained. (RM)

This study attempted to clarify the concept "program" by systematically examining the use of the term "program." The term was examined as it is used in ordinary language and in adult education literature. After analysis of the term within these two contexts, a typology was developed from the uses identified. The typology was then utilized as an…