Three experiments tested the main claims of the idiom decomposition hypothesis: People have clear intuitions on the semantic compositionality of idiomatic expressions, which determines the syntactic behavior of these expressions and how they are recognized. Experiment 1 showed that intuitions are clear only for a very restricted number of…

This article concentrates on the syntagmatic element involved in using and understanding various signalling systems. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Several hypotheses are developed concerning the semantic-pragmatic shifts that take place in the development of grammatical markers such as prepositions, auxiliary verbs and sentence connectives. Over time, grammatical markers shift from being primarily referential to more pragmatic meanings, from propositional to textual to attitudinal. (PMJ)

The introduction to systemic functional linguistics explores the social semiotic approach to language most closely associated with the work of Michael Halliday and his colleagues. An approach that views language as a strategic, meaning-making resource, systemic linguistics focuses on the analysis of authentic, everyday texts and asks both how…

Based on Mulder's previous classification of all semiotic systems designed to describe the system of discrete features in human languages, this article explores a further subclassification of the genus language into species. (CLK)

This article stresses the need for examining the total context of language, including the biological characteristics of the speaker, and anthropological, psychological, geographic, and socioeconomic factors. (CLK)

After discussing the nature and application of the word "semiology" (or semiotics) and briefly reviewing research in semiotics, this article examines the issue of whether or not semiotics can be considered an independent discipline. Available from Les Presses de l'Universite du Quebec, C.P. 250, Succursale N, Montreal, Canada H2X 3M4. (Text is in…

Maintains that the study of signs is divided between those scholars who use the Saussurian binary sign (semiology) and those who prefer the Peirce tripartite sign (semiotics). Concludes that neither the Saussurian nor Peircian analysis methods can produce a semiotic interpretation based on a hierarchy of the text's various components. (CFR)

This volume, first in a series of French publications of specialized, introductory books to the study of linguistics, develops a structured, panoramic view of characteristic thought concerning the study of stylistics. Five major areas, each presenting excerpts of significant publications on a particular aspect of the problem, are developed under:…

The 1999 issues of "Notes on Linguistics," published quarterly, include the following articles, review articles, reviews, book notices, and reports: "A New Program for Doing Morphology: Hermit Crab"; "Lingualinks CD-ROM: Field Guide to Recording Language Data"; "'Unruly' Phonology: An Introduction to Optimality Theory"; "Borrowing vs. Code…