Examines how multiple phonetic constraints interact to produce universal sound patterns and how the resulting systems may differ. A computational model of emergent syllable systems is presented that is based on a set of functional constraints on syllable systems and the assumption that language structure emerges through cumulative change over…

Discusses the compilation of a computer corpus representing all the surviving English verse and prose between circa 450 and 1300. Focus is on negation in early Middle English. (Author/VWL)

Earlier research argues that "busy" in South African English was, contrary to prevailing scholarly intuitions, not attributable to Afrikaans influence, except for a lifting of the semantic restriction that the verb being modified refer to work activities. Tests these conclusions in light of further data and the rise of corpus…

Demonstrates how innate representational capabilities for serial and temporal structure of language could arise from a common neural architecture, distinct from that required for the representation of abstract structure, and provides a predictive testable model of the initial computational state of the language learner. (Author/VWL)

Presents an analysis of German modal particles based on corpora representing Spoken German. The concept of spoken language is discussed with regard to the corpora analyzed and narrowed down in relation to the use of modal particles. In addition, a collection of telephone conversations was scanned into a computer readable file and analyzed using…

Recent research suggests that phonotactic probability (the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence) and neighborhood density (the number of words phonologically similar to a given word) influence spoken language processing and acquisition across the lifespan in both normal and clinical populations. The majority of research in this area has…

This article presents the findings of a corpus based research that investigated Malaysian ESL learners' use of modals in two written tasks. The aim of the study was to investigate the distribution and functions of modals used in the students' writing. The research design comprised a qualitative technique through discourse analysis supplemented…

Two experiments examined the restriction of referential domains during unscripted conversation by analyzing the modification and online interpretation of referring expressions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that from the earliest moments of processing, addressees interpreted referring expressions with respect to referential domains constrained by the…

This paper describes the first prototype of an automated tool for detecting collocation errors in texts written by non-native speakers of English. Candidate strings are extracted by pattern matching over POS-tagged text. Since learner texts often contain spelling and morphological errors, the tool attempts to automatically correct them in order to…

This paper reports a corpus-based lexical study of the most frequently used medical academic vocabulary in medical research articles (RAs). A Medical Academic Word List (MAWL), a word list of the most frequently used medical academic words in medical RAs, was compiled from a corpus containing 1 093 011 running words of medical RAs from online…

This article describes two complementary research projects into lexical patterning and frequency in general and academic English. The research suggests that treating current popularly used wordlists such as the General Service List (GSL) and the Academic Word List (AWL) as distinct constructs is of questionable merit. Rather, there are strong…

This study reports on the pedagogic rationale, didactic design and implications of an AHRC-funded doctoral training scheme in collaborative and digital multimedia in the humanities. In the second part of this article we discuss three areas of provision that were identified as particularly significant and/or controversial. These include (1) desktop…

This investigation examined the effects of currently available word prediction software programs that support phonetic/inventive spelling on the quality of journal writing by six students with severe writing and/or spelling difficulties in grades three through six during a month-long summer writing program. A changing conditions single-subject…

Corpora and concordancing have become much more widely available as researchers recognise that they can significantly enrich the language learning environment. There is still, however, a strong resistance towards corpus use by teachers and learners (Romer, 2006:122). An understanding of the implications and relevance of corpus use for pedagogy may…

Contact with the English language, especially from the 20th century onwards, has had as a consequence an increase in the number of words that are borrowed from English into Spanish. This process is particularly noticeable in Spanish for Specific Purposes, and, more specifically, in the case of Spanish computer language. Although sociocultural and…