Points out the need for audience consideration in technical writing. Discusses how memory divides information into chunks for processing, and how this affects the readability of technical text. (HTH)

Argues that R. A. Harris, in applying linguistic theory to technical writing, undermines his purpose by introducing irrelevant distinctions between competing syntactic theories and by failing to exploit the full potential of applications he mentions. Uses the passive construction to illustrate how linguistics can be used to advantage by technical…

Explores how some contemporary language usage presents challenges for technical editing and how awareness of language theory can help students expand their context for (and critically assess) current editing textbook advice on language choice. Discusses what editors and teachers of editing can do to help produce technical documents that address…

Noting that although a great deal of empirical research has been done to investigate the writing rules commonly taught, this paper points out that no one has yet constructed a deep theory of the relationship between cognition and writing that confirms the writing rules and explains how they work. The paper then uses theories and research in the…

Technical sublanguages are discussed as a medium for communication between individuals, corporations, and non-commercial organizations. The technical translator's professional activities are regarded as a means for achieving specific goals in communication. Features of languages for specific purposes (LSP) and sublanguages are discussed briefly.…

Using a system based on standard augmented transition network (ATN) parsing approach, this report describes a technique for the rapid development of natural language parsing, called High-Level Grammar Specification Language (HGSL). The first part of the report describes the syntax and semantics of HGSL and the network implementation of each of its…

A collection of essays on the comprehension of text brings together perspectives of different disciplines on discourse. Articles include: "Naturalistic Texts and Naturalistic Tasks" (Herre van Oostendorp, Rolf A. Zwaan); "Psychological Studies of Naturalistic Text" (Arthur C. Graesser, Joseph P. Magliano, Karl Haberlandt);…

Conceptual and syntactic strategies in reading a foreign language are considered with attention to the functioning of the sentence parser. Topics of analysis include: the theoretical background and the educational relevance of the question of strategies; a study of the relative importance of the two parsing principles (syntactically guided…

A collection of essays on bilingualism and its relationship to development of reading and writing skills includes: "Awareness of Text Structure: Effects on Recall" (Patricia L. Carrell); "Second-Language Readers' Memory for Narrative Texts: Evidence for Structure-Preserving Top-Down Processing" (Yukie Horiba, Paul W. van den…

This selection of papers starts with insights into multi- and plurilingual settings, then proceeds to discussions of aims for practical work with students, and ends with visions of future developments within translation for the mass media and the impact of machine translation. Papers are: "Interpreting at the European Commission";…

Essays in applied linguistics presented in this annual review include: "Learner Autonomy: Some Steps in the Evolution of Theory and Practice" (David Little); "An Investigation of the Mental Lexicon of Second Language Learners" (Elizabeth O'Gorman); "Strategies for Identifying Terms in Specialised Texts" (Jennifer Pearson); "Inferencing and the…