I show how a conversational process that takes simple, intuitively meaningful steps may be understood as a sophisticated computation that derives the richly detailed, complex representations implicit in our knowledge of language. To develop the account, I argue that natural language is structured in a way that lets us formalize grammatical…

A series of self-paced reading time experiments was performed to assess how characteristics of noun phrases (NPs) contribute to the difference in processing difficulty between object- and subject-extracted relative clauses. Structural semantic characteristics of the NP in the embedded clause (definite vs. indefinite and definite vs. generic) did…

An eye movement study of temporarily ambiguous closure sentences confirmed that the early closure penalty in a sentence like "While John hunted the frightened deer escaped" is larger for a simple past verb ("hunted") than for a past progressive verb ("was hunting"). The results can be explained by the observation that simple past tense verbs…

This paper proposes an ontology mapping-based framework that allows searching for learning resources using multiple ontologies. The present applications of ontologies in e-learning use various ontologies (eg, domain, curriculum, context), but they do not give a solution on how to interoperate e-learning systems based on different ontologies. The…

Both cerebral hemispheres contain phonological, orthographic and semantic representations of words, however there are between-hemisphere differences in the relative engagement and specialization of the different representations. Taking orthographic processing for example, previous studies suggest that orthographic neighbourhood size (N) has…

Vocabulary is the essential element of comprehending concepts in content areas. Many words used in science content-area materials are used to define concepts and to increase the conceptual development of the content area. Conceptual development is a major goal of content-area instruction. Without a clear understanding of the language of the…

To benefit from reflective and reflexive actions there is a need to contrast these two terms to understand what each is and is not. Both terms can indicate a level and concern for self-development. For instance, to be reflexive is to self-examine, to consider internal conversation, and use this voice to guide, support, and enhance work.…

The paper examines the first twenty verb-forms recorded for six Hebrew-speaking children aged between 1;2 and 2;1, and how they evolve into fully inflected verbs for three of these children. Discussion focuses first on what word-forms children initially select for the verbs they produce, what role these forms play in children's emergent grammar,…

In our recent paper, "Semantic generality, input frequency and the acquisition of syntax" ("Journal of Child Language" 31, 61-99), we presented data from two-year-old children to examine the question of whether the semantic generality of verbs contributed to their ease and stage of acquisition over and above the effects of their typically high…

This paper proposes a shared, distributed, asymmetrical model for the bilingual mental lexicon. To test the sharing of conceptual relations across translation equivalents, Experiment 1 used the classical priming paradigm with specific methodological innovations, trying to satisfy various constraints that had not been addressed in previous studies.…

Sound-symbolism is the idea that the relationship between word sounds and word meaning is not arbitrary for all words, but rather that there are subsets of words in the world's languages for which sounds and their symbols have some degree of correspondence. The present research investigates sound-symbolism as a possible route to the learning of an…

There is growing interest in the use of semantic collections in order to identify and analyse domain knowledge. This paper describes some technical issues to consider when contemplating research which incorporates small-to-medium domain-specific word sets. The purpose of the corpus construction described was to provide an external word collection…

In the context of learning theories the problem of the passage from the psychological dimension governed by images to the "scientific" dimension dominated by concepts needs to be reformulated. The starting point of the question should be recognition that at a "deep" level, between the two dimensions, there is a bridge, the design of which can be…

When asked to recall the words from a just-presented target list, subjects occasionally recall words that were not on the list. These intrusions either appeared on earlier lists (prior-list intrusions, or PLIs) or had not appeared over the course of the experiment (extra-list intrusions). The authors examined the factors that elicit PLIs in free…

This study reports descriptive findings regarding the scaffolding strategies used by an experienced practitioner during a shared book reading session with a student who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Specific scaffolding strategies are described and, in addition, the level of semantic complexity targeted by the practitioner…