The Agent-action-Objective (AaO) axiom and the theory of rotational dynamics constitute the frame of reference for the study of the metaphor as instrument for the direct perception of events. The major hypothesis of this frame of reference refers to the event structure embedded in the ground of a metaphor. Since the ground is implicit in the…

The author reviews tri-ad language models and suggests that they are not sufficient in describing language use. He introduces a six component language model adopted from the model originally intended for persuasive oratory. (MS)

To what extent does language acquisition recruit domain-general processing mechanisms? In this dissertation, evidence concerning this question is garnered from the study of individual differences in infant speech perception and their predictive value with respect to language development in early childhood. In the first experiment, variation in the…

This paper discusses the growth of the field of psycholinguistics, what its practitioners have discovered concerning first language acquisition and the implications of these new theories and discoveries for the teaching of English. The author contends that in (English) language instruction, teachers have failed to consider what the child already…

Behavioral variation in Broca's aphasia has been characterized as boundless, calling into question the validity of the syndrome-based schema and related diagnostic methods of acquired language disorders. More generally, this putative variability has cast serious doubts on the feasibility of localizing linguistic operations in cortex. We present a…

This study aims to describe in detail the linguistic skills of a large group of SLI participants. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of age-related effects on their linguistic performance and to whether a linguistic assessment of a narrative task can capture language impairments that might not be adequately pointed out by standardized…

Twenty-eight subjects were presented with computer generated grammatically deviant strings and asked to carry out two tasks on each of two experimental days. Task 1 was a forced-choice experiment in which 50 pairs of strings were presented aurally to each subject and he had to select that member of the pair which he felt was the best approximation…

This study was designed to assess some of the differences in the information about the speaker which is communicated by conversational" and dynamic" styles of nonverbal vocalic communication. The experiment and results are discussed by the authors. (Author/MS)

This article presents findings from a year-long study of how intermediate second language (L2) learners of German (English first language) used case markings, word order, and semantic information when comprehending individual German sentences. The results showed that the learners relied on word order and semantic information, but did not…

Attempts to answer the questions "why study Saussure?" and "how?" through an historical analysis of Saussure's work, based on the "langue/parole" distinction. (AM)

Discusses Chomsky's influence in the field of linguistics and concludes that it is part of the branch of psychology and, hence, objective in its analysis of language behavior. (SB)

A hypothesis for the aphasic syndrome of aggramatism--the omission of function words and inflectional morphemes--is presented. The author tests and illustrates the efficacy of closely observing substantive universals of grammatical structure in proposing accounts of linguistic defects. (Author/MV)

Linguistic and dichotic listening performances were studied of three groups of nine children (five to nine years old): (1) language-disordered children whose articulatory errors were primarily omissions; (2) language-disordered chidren whose articulatory errors were primarily substitutions; and (3) communicatively normal children. The results of…

The results of this study indicate that the voiceless fricatives, /S/ and /Sh/, are reduced in intensity when spoken in a whispered vowel environment. In addition females may produce relatively weaker fricative intensity and intra-oral pressure. (Author)