Challenges the position of Clark (1988) that no two forms in a language can mean the same thing. An alternative is offered that draws on the drive towards the adult system, development of nonlinguistic concepts, acquisition of language in context, and use of a cooperative principle in conversational exchanges. (64 references) (Author/CB)

Recounts the efforts of a long-time advocate of E-Prime (English without the verb "to be") to use fewer forms of "to be" when writing, and especially, when speaking, where it is more difficult to monitor oral utterances. Uses a "crispness index" (a semantic equation) to measure language processes. Discusses empirical…

"Properties, Types and Meaning (Vol. I, Fundamental Issues and Vol. II, Semantic Issues)," by Gennaro Chiercia et al., is reviewed. The book contains revisions of essays originally presented at a 1986 meeting at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A critique and application of Richard Montogue's Intensional Logic unites the two volumes.…

Discusses two meanings of abstract: abstract-apart, ideas removed from reality; and abstract-general, ideas general to a wide variety of contexts. Suggests that greater interest in abstraction as a process, instead of just a product, would be beneficial to mathematics education theory and practice. (48 references) (MKR)

Studied whether two-year olds use multiple syntactic frames to help determine meanings of novel verbs. The multiple frames tested were combinations of transitive and intransitive frames in two alternation patterns. As predicted, the Causative pattern was more predictive of actions involving physical causation, and the Omitted Object pattern was…

Examines the seven basic propaganda techniques (name calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonials, plain folks, card stacking, and bandwagon) in terms of the principles of general semantics. (SR)

Discusses knowledge graphs, a new form of knowledge representation, and their possible uses in electronic study books. Topics addressed include graph structures; semantics; and representing knowledge from books, including browsing, information marking, annotations, group-based learning, information sequencing, information distribution, and…

Reports on the development of an NLP (natural language processing) component for processing the free-text comments on life insurance applications for evaluation by an underwriting expert system. A sublanguage grammar approach with strong reliance on semantic word classes is described. Highlights include lexical analysis, adjacency analysis, and…

Describes four tensions in postmodern continuing education practice: aggregation versus fragmentation, consistency versus flexibility, description versus evaluation, and associationality versus immediacy. Explains the two opposing inclinations in these concepts: there are good reasons following each one, but doing so limits the possibility of…

It is proposed that declarative sentences used in ordinary speech deliver regular, patterned suggestions. The reader or auditor is invited to infer that the utterance is coherent, pertinent, feasible, true, and believed by the speaker and that the speaker could have ascertained its truth. (41 references) (MSE)

Three computational models that track patterns in semantic change over time are described. The models were used to investigate whether certain word properties (e.g., frequency of use, accessibility) and the relationships between them would be sufficient in themselves to produce some patterns of change. (15 references) (MSE)

In two studies, two year olds learned a novel word for a particular stuffed animal. When the animal was familiar, children interpreted the novel word as a proper noun. When the animal was unfamiliar, children frequently interpreted the novel word as a count noun referring to a kind of object. (BC)

Although many blame societal relativism for lack of moral vision, the term "moral education" is not being used with clarity and specificity. Confusing it with values/ethics/character training makes curricular application difficult. (SK)

Presents examples of logotypes of the word "Mexico" by second-semester typography students from the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. Analyzes each according to its unity, coherence, and emphasis. Discusses the context, syntactic and semantic rhetorical figures, metaphor, and the denotation and connotation of each. (CR)

Presents a faster method for determining hierarchical relationships in information retrieval by using trie structures instead of a linear storage of a concept code. Highlights include case structures, a knowledge representation for natural-language understanding with semantic constraints; a compression algorithm of tries; and evaluation.…