One of the intricate properties of second language acquisition is that some types of grammatical feature appear to be acquired easily and in a native-like way, while others remain persistently difficult. There is much evidence related to the issue in the current empirical studies, and the issue raises an important explanatory problem for a theory…

This chapter will present a research synthesis of a series of studies, termed here the Ealing research. The studies use the same general framework to conceptualise tasks and task performance, enabling easier comparability. The different studies, although each is self-contained, build into a wider picture of task performance. The major point of…

To what extent does language acquisition recruit domain-general processing mechanisms? In this dissertation, evidence concerning this question is garnered from the study of individual differences in infant speech perception and their predictive value with respect to language development in early childhood. In the first experiment, variation in the…

Attempts to answer the questions "why study Saussure?" and "how?" through an historical analysis of Saussure's work, based on the "langue/parole" distinction. (AM)

Clitics are explained through the interplay of different levels of language in performance. It is shown that clitic movement can be blocked on phonological ground, and accusative marked by "shwa" follows, rather than precedes, a clitic segment containing a back vowel--"vous le" or "nous le". (SCC)

From an outline of the recent history of the psychology of language the author proceeds to discuss research that has been done recently in psycholinguistics. These studies fall within the following areas: (1) "The Study of Grammar as a Psychological Process," (2) "How We Remember Sentences," (3) "What We Do When We…

This paper provides a brief but broad review of studies in semantics. Particular attention is given to I.A. Richards' analyses of utterances, to value statements which express moral or ethical judgments, and to recent efforts to formulate a logic of contextual implication. J.L. Austin's analysis of performative, or illocutionary, utterances and…

This article discusses sentence structure and sentence production as an integral process that reflects the given situation as perceived by the speaker, and not merely as a grammatical combination of words. The role of predicativity in sentence production is outlined. (CLK)

Among the most important questions in psycholinguistics today are the following: By which processes does man organize and understand speech? Which are the smallest linguistic units and rules stored in the memory and used in the production and perception of speech? Are the same mechanisms at work in both cases? Discussed in this paper are…

The author endeavors to penetrate the "mists o f mentalistic myth" which enshroud the "very real, solid, and substantial results of generative or transformational linguistics." In attempting to clarify and clear up misunderstandings about theories of grammar as put forth by Chomsky (whose practice, the author feels, is "superior to his description…

The objective of this paper is to combine the viewpoint of model-theoretic semantics and generative grammar, to define semantics for context-free languages, and to apply the results to some fragments of natural language. Following the introduction in the first section, Section 2 describes a simple artificial example to illustrate how a semantic…

This paper examines possible interchanges between cognitive and language processes with particular attention given to concept formation and semantic language development. Aspects of psychological and contemporary linguistic theories are discussed as a way to interrelate the functions of thought and language. The author concludes that while…

Delineates and elaborates upon the underlying psychological postulates in linguistic and information-processing models, and shows the interdependence of psycholinguistics and linguistic analysis. (Text is in French.) (DB)

Written in Spanish, the article discusses the transformational grammar of the Spanish used by Chicanos. (NQ)