Proposes to model the synchronic and diachronic semantics of the diminutive category with a "Radial Category," a type of structured polysemy that explicitly models the different senses of the diminutive and the metaphorical and inferential relations that bind them. The model is tested by considering the semantics of the diminutive in…

Presents a computational study of children's acquisition of word-to-meaning mappings, approximates this task as a mathematical problem, and presents an algorithm for solving the problem, illustrating the algorithm's operation on a small example. Notes that computational simulations demonstrated the robustness of the algorithm and illustrated how…

Proposes a model for explaining constraints imposed by predicates on selecting arguments appropriate for the predicates. The model has two components, a taxonomic representation of concepts and probabilistic formalization of selectional constraints defined in terms of that taxonomy. Describes four computational experiments testing the model's…

Presents data from a patient with a progressive fluent aphasia, who exhibited a severe verbal impairment but a relatively preserved access to knowledge from pictures. Argues for a distributed, multi-modality system for semantic memory in which information is stored in different brain regions and in different representational formats. (Author/VWL)

Notes that a strategy of cutting up printed sentences mediates the need to both keep children's work their own and develop a bank of sight words. Explains how cutting sentences apart allows students to investigate words. Proposes that using cut-up sentences provides scaffolding for those students who memorize text without focusing on it. (PM)

Examines whether listeners efficiently exploit sentence prosody to direct attention to words bearing sentence accent. Four studies are reported. Results suggest that less efficient mapping of prosody to semantics may be one way in which nonnative listening fails to equal native listening. (Author/VWL)

Examines the theory of "natural semantic metalanguage," which argues that all languages share an irreducible core of universal semantic primitives with certain universal syntactic properties. Hypotheses on the universal syntax of semantic primitives are outlined. Topics include valency options and complementation possibilities of…

Investigated the acquisition of Japanese unaccusative verbs by English-speaking learners, specifically whether second language learners are sensitive to syntactic and semantic properties associated with the "takusan" construction as a syntactic test and the "-teiru" construction as a semantic test. Results show learners generally know the…

Introduces the concept of lexical unit as proposed by Cruse (1986) in the context of second language vocabulary learning to replace the notion of "word." Defines the concept in terms of lexical semantics and applies it to the task of learning a second language. Describes studies in which the learning of different types of lexical units is…

Three studies are reported that addressed methodological problems in Stowe's (1989) study, which reported that semantic information eliminates garden paths in sentences with direct object versus subject ambiguity, such as in "Even before the police stopped the driver was frightened." Findings support a sentence processing system relying on…

Sought to determine optimal conditions for learning accurate word usage in Japanese from limited exposure to exemplars. Results indicate that having varied type exemplars that show clear distinctions among semantically similar words promotes accuracy of usage, as measured by learners' ability to extend a word's core meaning to more abstract or…

Illuminates the psycholinguist mechanism that underlies the claim made by the output hypothesis that production makes the learner move from semantic processing prevalent in comprehension to more syntactic processing that is necessary for second language development. Reviews previous literature in language acquisition and cognitive psychology on…

Reports on a study of the native lexicon of two genetically unrelated languages: Kambera and Dutch. Focuses on the expressive elements. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the problem of a handful of indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural without a change in spelling. Outlines guidelines for using the words "most,""all,""any,""some,""such," and "none." (PM)

Describes the work by Silvio Ceccato regarding machine translation systems and procedures, exploring such aspects of his work as functional philosophical approaches to machine translation, notional spheres, correlational analysis, and type classifications. Ceccato envisioned many of the methods that are now being applied in machine translation…