This article aims to propose a practical model for intra-lingual translation or "paraphrase" in another term. Paraphrase is a restatement of a text, rewording something written or spoken, especially to achieve greater clarity. This approach could help a troubled translator who is having issues translating a complex text into a receptor…

This study investigates the role of emotional linguistic input in learning novel words with abstract and concrete denotations. It is widely accepted that concrete words are processed more easily than abstract ones. Several theories of vocabulary acquisition additionally propose a critical role of sensorimotor and emotional information during novel…

This theoretical study aims at raising awareness of the existence of lexical false friends (FFs) in English and Arabic as genetically unrelated languages. It also provides a general categorization for FFs from a semantic point of view. A sample of more than fifty FF pairs is examined by contrasting their form, pronunciation and meaning. The…

This study examines the challenges of analyzing texts that are multimodal--that is, combining more than one mode of communication, such as written text, images, video, and/or audio--and considers the theoretical and practical implications of two very different approaches. The more common current approach, which adapts the work of Halliday and…

Definite descriptions have a number of different readings, the most prominent being the referential and attributive readings. On the referential reading, the description "The current President of the USA" is interpreted as "Barack Obama"; read attributively, it is interpreted as "the current President of the USA, whoever…

This interview was conducted with Professor Keith Allan with the aim of providing a brief but informative summary of the state of the art of pragmatics. In providing answers to the interview questions, Professor Allan begins with a definition of pragmatics as it is practiced today, i.e., the study of the meanings of utterances with attention to…

"Reclaiming Ga?" is a curious title for readers oblivious to the fact that the meaning of "?a?" has been lost. Indeed, "?a?" is but one of several linguistic signals of Koine Greek that allude the grasp of the modern scholar. This has created an environment within NT studies described here as conjunctive…

This paper examines the concept of polysemy which serves as the basis of the "principled polysemy model" of spatial prepositions proposed by A. Tyler and V. Evans in a number of recent publications [Tyler, Andrea, Evans, Vyvyan, 2001. Reconsidering prepositional polysemy networks: The case of "over". Language 77, 724-765;…

Several different theories of semiotics and linguistics are examined. (Text is in French.) (PMP)

Discusses the metalinguistic elements of argumentation in the legal definition. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/AM)

This paper accepts Labov's (1973) criticisms of the categorial approach, i.e., the view that linguistic units are categories which are discrete, invariant, qualitatively distinct, conjunctively defined, and composed of atomic primes, and follows Labov in attempting to develop a non-categorial (or fuzzy-categorial) approach to lexical semantics,…

Outlines the history of the terms "derivation,""affix," and "prefix," and of the corresponding grammatical notions, from their origins in the ancient Latin and Hebrew grammars to present day usage. Discusses concepts developed by classic and medieval philosophers on grammatical terminology and theory. (MES)

Most of the ordinary words in a language do not mean; rather, they act as rigid designators, referring to the same object in all possible words in which the object exists. Most words are names that are used as rigid designators of kinds--natural kinds (species, genre, and so forth), artifacts, physical and social magnitudes, and sorts of…

In this column, the term "pragmatics", a part of linguistic analysis, is explained. The study of pragmatics concerns language usage in natural context. The item of analysis is not the sentence, but the utterance of the sentence in a particular well-defined set of contexts. (SW)

Examined whether the use of superordinate terms in 206 children's definitions is predictable by relevance theory. Children (ages 5-10) gave definitions for 16 basic-level words and 4 superordinate words from natural kind and artifact semantic domains. Superordinate terms were used more frequently when they supported more inferences. Findings…