An experiment is reported that uses cross-modal priming to look at the resolution of anaphoric reference. Subjects given a visual lexical decision test simultaneously with an auditorily presented sentence showed selective semantic activation of the pronoun's referent on the basis of the pronoun's lexical properties. This finding is discussed in…

Usage patterns of the three most common Russian equivalents of the verb "use" are outlined with three types of criteria for judging usage: definitional, contextual, and stylistic considerations. Typical usage is discussed, and the issue of questionable acceptability is touched upon. (MSE)

A broader perspective of student errors made in French sees them as departures from the scholarly norm rather than simply mistakes. Five examples are provided to help the teacher conceptualize and generalize this approach. (MSE)

Gives some examples of internal contradictions in the use of the Spanish subjunctive. Details these contradictions to show there is only a tenuous relationship between surface forms and semantic features and categories. (EKN)

Despite the disadvantages of overemphasizing single components in research endeavors, studies in the area of social skills generally have been restricted to assertion. Two experiments were conducted to demonstrate social skills other that assertion. A case was made for diversifying future study among social skills with explicated research. (Author)

Since the priming effects described in this article were independent of episodic memory, and since there were problems with their interpretation in terms of modifications of semantic memory, it is felt that they reflect the operation of some other, as yet little understood, memory system. (Author/PN)

Children exhibiting a referential orientation seem more likely to acquire new object names than nonreferentially oriented children. Also, children's selection of words may be influenced by the phonological structure of the words. (Author/RH)

Investigates sign learning as a function of sign translucency (ease of relating a sign to its referents) and referential concreteness. Naive sign learners attempted to learn a list of sign-referent pairs. Signs high in translucency and referents high in concreteness facilitated learning; low levels of each variable inhibited learning. (Author/PJM)

Presents several types of synophones, words similar in sound but different in meaning, including those differing in one phoneme only, more than one phoneme which can have an identical Latin root, and several phonemes which defy exact definition. Suggests validity of context as aid to comprehension of unknown words should not be overestimated.…

Correlational analyses indicated that age of acquisition estimates, codability, and retrieval speed were highly related to each other and significantly related to most of the semantic dimensions. Regression analyses revealed that codability, meaningfulness, and imagery each contributed signficantly to the variance of retrieval speed. (Author)

It is posited that varying uses of the words "values" and "ethics" signify important clashes of opinion about the proper subject matter, scope, and goals of teaching about normative prescriptive judgements and theories. (MJB)

Introduces a theoretical framework applicable to the political and social uses made of humor. Focuses on the uses individuals make of jokes and joking in relation to the constant interchange involved between institutional stability and social change. (FL)

Attempts to show that conditional sentences are based on two separate binary choices: the choice between "open" and "theoretical" and the choice between "event condition" and "truth condition." Truth conditions, unlike event conditions, are concerned not with what might or might not happen but with what…

Certain verbs in English can be followed by both "ing" and by a "to"+ infinitive, with a difference in meaning. The "ing" ending is used for events or states already in existence at the time of the preceding verb. The infinitive points ahead to a later time. Examples are given. (PJM)

Tested the hypothesis that retarded children will increase their recall organization after semantic strategy training and that they will generalize their organizational behavior when given novel categories to learn. (Author/DB)