After presenting various problems related to the lexicon in a linguistic theory, the author suggests a procedure for overcoming the problems. (MF)

Describes current activity in the Netherlands in the area of computational linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and text processing. (AM)

Surveys the current state of minicomputer-operated information systems capable of incorporating linguistic features, focusing on the Minicomputer Operated Retrieval (Partially Heuristic) System. Consideration is given to the automation of the indexing process and to available search strategies. (FM)

Examines how adverbs of degree tend to collocate with particular words in the 100-million-word British National Corpus and considers possible implications for English language teaching. (Author/VWL)

Discussion of automatic abstracting of technical papers focuses on a knowledge-based method that uses two sets of rules. Topics discussed include anaphora; text structure and discourse; abstracting techniques, including the keyword method and the indicator phrase method; and tools for text skimming. (27 references) (LRW)

Works on constructing a computational model of phonological short-term memory. Initial goals include performing large-scale research for data on the characteristics of phonological retention and retrieval, learning existing theoretical constructs, exploring alternative computational methods, and gathering experimental evidence to constrain the…

Using data from a large second-language (L2) text analysis (160 texts, 62 variables) in which automatic analysis was not used, it is demonstrated that a computer program designed for first-language texts is not accurate enough to capture completely the structures used by L2 writers. Suggestions are offered for an L2 text analysis program. (17…

Ways for using computer-generated concordances in language teaching are suggested, specifically, a typology of exercise types. Kinds of information to be derived from a concordance (e.g., keyword-in-context type) are considered, followed by a discussion of the rationale and technical problems encountered. (10 references) (LB)

Reviews corpus-based research that draws on theoretical insights from systemics, genre, and discourse analysis for exploration of small-scale specialized corpora of academic writing. (Author/VWL)

Reports the results of experiments with MEDLINE that used lexical statistics such as word-frequency counts to discover hidden connections in medical literature. Discusses problems with relying on bibliographic citations or standard indexing methods to establish a relationship between topics that might profitably be explored by scientific research.…

Develops a model of language change characterizing the dynamic interaction between internal universal grammar and external linguistic evidence, as mediated by language acquisition. Borrows insights from the study of biological evolution, where internal and external forces interact in similar fashion. Applies the model to explore the loss of the…

Raises questions regarding the classification system Darwin and Gray offer for phrasal verbs on the basis of utility in the classroom. Darwin and Gray clarify the purpose of their classification system and provide additional corpus-based data. (Author/VWL)

Presents a method for extracting maximal frequent sequences in a set of documents. A maximal frequent sequence is a sequence of words that is frequent in the document collection and is not contained in any other longer frequent sequence. Frequent maximal sequences can be used as content descriptors for documents. (MES)