Presents accounts of theories locating the sources of the signifying capacities of words in their imbrication with nondiscursive structures and practices. Points out that a tradition of philosophical, linguistic, and semiotic theorizing has attempted to clarify what it is for words to have the meanings they do in terms of the relation of…

Describes development and testing of maze-like semantic maps for assessing reading comprehension of content-area information. Results involving 144 students (38 with learning disabilities) showed that maps could be produced and scored with high reliability. Criterion-related validity based on a standardized test was weak, but moderate-to-strong…

Reports on a small scale pilot project designed to elicit acceptability judgments regarding dative alternation in English studied as a second language. Preliminary results suggest that a thematic strategy may be one of a battery of learning strategies available to second-language learners. (40 references) (CK)

Identifies lexical equivalents of semantic primitives "above, under, inside, on the side," as defined by Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory, in Longgu (Solomon Islands) and argues that the first three have both a semantically primitive rational sense and a secondary topological sense. Morphosyntactic issues are discussed, including…

Two studies of toddlers and children with autism, mentally handicapped children, and normal toddlers examined whether autistic toddlers used Speaker's Direction of Gaze (SDG) strategy or less powerful Listener's Direction of Gaze (LDG) strategy to learn a word for a novel object. Results suggest autistic toddlers are insensitive to speaker's gaze…

Using citations, papers and references as parameters a relatedness factor (RF) is computed for a series of journals. Sorting these journals by the RF produces a list of journals most closely related to a specified starting journal. The method appears to select a set of journals that are semantically most similar to the target journal. The…

Although many talk about cultural diversity on campus, the reality of a multicultural environment in higher education is rarely recognized. Barriers include communication problems, differing cultural values, and nonverbal communication patterns. Realizing a multicultural environment requires risk taking, openness to ideas, patience, and respect.…

In 1987, as a vehicle for improving student performance, Moss Point (Mississippi) Schools embraced semantic or cognitive mapping. Using highly structured computer programs, students learn to construct visual maps representing the relationships of major ideas, subordinate ideas, and explicit information. Includes six references. (MLH)

Two linguistic microstructures (propositions and cohesive devices) were analyzed in story recalls by 11 primary and intermediate level hearing-impaired students. When stories were very simple, students generated mostly complete propositions, however as complexity increased, semantic errors resulted in fewer complete propositions. (Author/DB)

Examines the fifth edition of S. I. Hayakawa's "Language in Action" in terms of original strengths and major content still intact, reorganization of chapters with updated application sections, and new chapters on television advertisement and use of deceptive language. (KEH)

Comprehension of metaphor in preschoolers was studied through an elicited repetition task. It was shown that the metaphors were not semantically anomolous to the children and that they were processed on a par with literal language. (Author/CB)

Addresses one aspect of English usage by Yoruba speakers of English as a Second Language in Nigeria, and analyzes the meanings of English kinship terms as used by educated Yoruba speakers in relation to specific sociocultural contexts of the Yoruba environment. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the need for a rich semantics for the user interface in interactive image retrieval and presents two methods for building such interfaces: possibility theory applied to fuzzy data retrieval, and a machine learning technique applied to learning the user's deep need. Prototypes developed using videodisks and knowledge-based software are…

Determines the concurrent and predictive validity of a cloze-based scoring procedure which is sensitive to semantic and syntactic language performance, as well as to the traditional responses to deletion. Finds the scoring procedure possesses acceptable concurrent and predictive validity for a variety of passages and grade levels. (RS)

Examines the usefulness of the Salience Imbalance Theory of metaphor processing to aid in understanding how children comprehend metaphors in written text. Supports the prediction that the measure of salience of features is affected by the topic order and vehicle (asymmetry), but also reports children's responses not explained by the theory. (KEH)