One theory of linguistic information processing asserts that there is a preliminary incomplete analysis of linguistic information which lets people judge how difficult the information will be to process completely. The present study investigates the reliability and validity of such judgments of comprehensibility and discusses some of their…

A sentence-reading procedure was used to study the influence of syntactic structure on the timing of syllables in speech production. The study was designed to test whether syllable lengthening might be sensitive to the distinction between surface and underlying structure. (Author/RM)

Revised version of an M.A. thesis submitted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, 1970, by Linda J. Rodd. (VM)

Fifth graders were asked to learn 32 syntactically varied semantically unrelated sentences containing combinations of agentive, objective, and instrumental case relations. Results were discussed in terms of ways to store sentences. (ST)

Modern transformational grammars can be effective tools for writing, for they offer hypotheses and generalizations about English sentences which can be used in an infinite number of linguistic contexts. One writing skill which transformational grammars can help students achieve is the ability to choose between synonymous expressions. Some…

A presentation of an experiment testing the claim that on-line syntactic processing is autonomous and not affected by semantic content. Results suggested that before the clause boundary is reached, syntactic decisions can be influenced by prior semantic context. An appendix containing numerous examples of clauses and probe words is included. (AMH)

The problem of determining the grammatical correctness, as opposed to semantic correctness, of the output of a generative system is discussed. (RM)

An experiment was conducted to determine whether the deep structure or the surface structure clause is more important as a speech planning unit, and whether syntactic decisions are made during sentence production. Results were discussed in relation to previous studies of pausing and speech disruption. (Author/CTM)

Work supported in part through a U.S. Air Force contract. (VM)

It has long been said that there are an infinite number of English sentences. "This is the cat that caught the rat" is an Enqlish sentence. So is "This is the cat that caught the rat that stole the cheese.""This is the cat with white paws that caught the rat that stole the cheese" is unobjectionable as well. Since a…

Despite the similarity in the surface structure, sentences containing a semi-auxiliary (e.g., "avoid,""bother,""happen,""seem,""begin,""tend," etc.) followed by a "to" infinitive or a gerund show a number of differences among themselves in respect to the co-occurrence…

A generative semantic model for a componential analysis of prepositions in Italian sentences is described and critiqued. According to the model, a sentence is analyzed in terms of a "predicate" plus one or more "arguments." The model emphasizes the semantic role of prepositions and regards this role as the basis for a syntactic…

This paper discusses one way of exploring how we perceive and understand the connections between some parts of texts, or between one sentence and the whole discourse. Understanding ellipsis involves non-syntactic understanding; the semantic structure is responsible for our understanding of elliptical sentences and encoding the knowledge contained…

This book is a transformational generative discussion of American English designed for use at the undergraduate as well as the graduate level. Chapter 1 deals with the definition of language and questions of dialect and standard language. Chapter 2, "The Nature of Linguistic Data," considers the speaker's knowledge of his language and the…