The relative merits of Chinese characters as a writing system are discussed as an introduction to the proceedings of the CLTA panel on Chinese characters. (KM)

All visual signals need to be interpreted. The educational system needs to teach students to interpret various media in addition to the printed word. (Author/STS)

Summarizes some of the major pieces of evidence concerning the archeological clay tokens, specifically the technique for their manufacture, their geographic distribution, chronology, and the context in which they are found. Discusses the interpretation of tokens as the first example of visible language, particularly as an antecedent of Sumerian…

Five propositions and observations and six guidelines on the subject of non-sexist language and editorial policies. (LS)

Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of language and literature can illuminate the workings of multigenre compositions. Bakhtin's theories of heteroglossia and novelization are applicable because they are not genre dependent. As he says, they reach "beyond the bounds of the novel as genre" to reflect the ways all kinds of written language may…

A count of the characters in two combined groups of local and United Press International news stories suggests that the frequency ranking of the letters used most in typesetting is ETAOIN RSHLDCU, rather than the traditional ETAOIN SRHLDCU or the order reported by I. E. Fang in 1966. (GT)

Presents a functional description of punctuation as a delimiter of words, sentences, and paragraphs, and as a semantic and extralinguistic indicator. (AM)

Examines the notion that shorthand systems derive their efficiency from the operation of a nonlexical sound-to-writing route. In an experiment, word frequency and accurate phoneme transcription accuracy were correlated whereas nonsense words resulted in decreased transcription accuracy, indicating that lexical effects for shorthand are just as…

Traces the development of punctuation and the understanding of its role over the centuries. Throughout its existence, punctuation has played the dual role of recording prosodic contours and syntactic structure. Past research and discussion has not provided a coherent picture. A model of punctuation based on systematic observation is needed. (175…

Examined whether phonological decoding could be observed among severely and profoundly deaf children during reading. The ability of 20 deaf children to detect phonological similarities between three written pseudo words was investigated. Results suggest a link between sensitivity to phonology in written language and speech skills. Implications of…

This study compared Greeks with Chinese, from 8 to 14 years of age, on measures of processing efficiency, working memory, and reasoning. All processes were addressed through three domains of relations: verbal/propositional, quantitative, and visuo/spatial. Structural equations modelling and rating scale analysis showed that the architecture and…

The issue of dialect and education and, in particular, the issue of which code to use as the medium of instruction has generated much heated debate in bidialectal societies. This debate is reflected in the literature on language policy in education which is divided into three main areas: (i) the use of the standard variety as medium of…

Much of the research that contributes to understanding how bilingual children become literate is not able to isolate the contribution of bilingualism to the discussion of literacy acquisition for these children. This article begins by identifying three areas of research that are relevant to examining literacy acquisition in bilinguals, explaining…

"Metalinguistic skill" has emerged as an important measure of the sophistication of an individual's mastery of language. Some of the impetus for studies of metalinguistic skills, stemmed from an interest in its contribution to the acquisition of literacy. The central debate in these studies has been the issue of whether metalinguistic skills…

The Han sphere, including Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China, adopted Han characters and classical Han writing as the official written language before the 20th century. However, great changes came with the advent of the 20th century. After World War II, Han characters in Vietnam and Korea were officially replaced by the romanised "Chu…