Using a modified Posner "encoding function" methodology, group differences in semantic encoding speed were assessed under conditions in which subjects encoded pictures of common objects to determine physical identity matches, name identity matches, and superordinate identity matches. Results of primary interest revealed group differences in basic…

Notes the problems young readers often have in decoding words of three syllables or more that appear in their textbooks and offers three solutions to the problem. (JC)

Experiment in which university undergraduates were given word definitions and asked to say aloud responses that came to mind in the course of their attempts to retrieve target words is described. Results indicated phonologically similar responses and word-fragments were predictors of target-word knowledge and likelihood of success in retrieval was…

Describes study that investigated the communicability of the emotional connotation of various typefaces. Typographers, student instructional technologists, and naive readers (high school and college students) rated 30 typefaces using a semantic differential scale. Seven hypotheses tested are discussed and results are analyzed. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study that attempts to systematize the criteria required for accurate translations of technical documents. The results of a Linguistic Appreciation Questionnaire-Test, administered to 19 professional translators, were used to categorize the most common translation variables: style, structure, rhythm, and meaning of text in the hope of…

Four activities for language learning are presented, including: class completion of incomplete dialogues excerpted from major literary works; games for learning vocabulary and civilization using words beginning with the same letter; a lesson using cartoons to elicit description and dialogues; and a unit on appropriate and inappropriate…

Gives a short grammar of the Lisp computer language. Presents an introductory English parser (Simparse) as an example of how to write a parser in Lisp. Lists references for further explanation. Intended as preparation for teachers who may use computer-assisted language instruction in the future. (LMO)

Study of the probabilistic nature of processing strategies in Dutch/English bilinguals indicated that sentence interpretation in English generally paralleled that in Dutch, with divergence toward similarity in performance by English monolinguals. (Author/CB)

Three types of overgeneral uses of object names by young children were identified. Production data from 10 children were obtained using a standardized method of recording utterance contexts. Results showed that, like adults, children's object categories applied to objects of particular kinds. Most overgeneral uses were attributable to…

Outlines an approach to vocabulary selection for computer-assisted language instruction that presents target language lexical items not as individual entities but as elements in a variety of semantic, morphological, morphosemantic, pragmatic, and interlinguistic relationships. (Author/MSE)

Deaf students' recognition of indefinite pronouns and quantifiers was tested using written materials in the form of comic strips. The subjects were 187 profoundly hearing-impaired students, aged 7 to 23 years. Findings showed significant developmental trends for both forms. Quantifiers were found to be significantly more difficult than indefinite…

Discusses the possessive constructions in English, in particular, the postponed construction. (An example of the postponed construction is "a book of John's," contrasted with "John's book," the preposed construction.) The study contrasts the possessive "of" with the "of" in other constructions and concludes…

Investigates the extent to which learning disabled readers' atypical encoding relates to their deficiencies in semantic memory by comparing learning disabled and nondisabled readers in two age groups on dichotic listening tasks that included orienting and nonorienting instructions. (HOD)

Comparison of production and comprehension methods in teaching six 3-year-old language disordered children the relationship between semantic role and word order indicated the production method (the children produced sentences contrasting word order and meaning) was more effective than the comprehension method (the children responded to contrasting…

Tests the hypothesis that children's inability to encode item-specific and relational information in episodic events contributes to age differences in recall and recognition. In two experiments, grade school children and college adults were presented with word triplets varying in categorical relatedness. Processing of the item-specific and…