Results show that basic objects are shown to be the most inclusive categories for which a concrete image of the category as a whole can be formed, to be the first categorizations made during perception of the environment and to be the categories most codable, most coded, and most necessary in language. (Author/DEP)

Describes the creation of a new language for the purpose of increasing participant's understanding of the nature of language. (MB)

An introduction to transformational generative grammar including recommendations of textbooks for those interested in the subject. (SW)

Defines gastronomic reference, or mention of what public figures eat, as synecdoche. Illustrates how use of this rhetorical device contributed to public figures and public images in the 1980 presidential campaign. Argues that interest in gastronomic reference leads to a broader concern for how synecdoche functions in public discourse. (PD)

Considers whether linguistic models can be used to examine how information is structured in the screen media. Highlights differences between language and screen media that make the transference difficult. Raises interesting questions about media literacy and whether screen media may have important perceptual and cognitive effects. (JMF)

The language of special education professionals is discussed as both a language game and a professional discourse and is analyzed at the level of semiotics. The semiotics of special education is broken down into the use of generative metaphors, keywords, and signs of difference. (Author/JDD)

This special set of articles continues the discussion of the essentially cultural nature of education this periodical began in 1994 and demonstrates that the principles of meaning-making in aboriginal cultures are similar to those of mainstream cultures. These articles also outline how cultural psychology is supported by semiotics. (SLD)

In late October 2000, Franklin Scott and Nicholas Thomas, 11th-graders at a high school in Alachua County, Florida, each displayed a Confederate flag on campus. Scott did so on his pickup truck, and Thomas did so on his T-shirt. The principal, Lamar Simmons, had given each of them a warning when they had engaged in such conduct earlier in the…

An empirically-based theory is proposed that relates media's most essential modes of presentation--their symbol systems--to modes of cognitive representation and to the acquisition of knowledge. This book draws upon scholarship in such areas as the study of symbol systems, cognition, cognitive development, psycholinguistics, and mass…

Relating natural language to mathematical language is an important component of elementary mathematics education. This paper describes new steps toward a computerized database of addition and subtraction word problems that could provide teachers and students with access to critical natural language terms and expressions for mathematical…

An historical perspective reveals that sophisticated mathematical activity has been going on in the Latino culture for thousands of years. This paper provides a general definition of the area of mathematics education that deals with issues of culture and mathematics (ethnomathematics) and defines what is meant by the term Latino in this essay.…

Deals with the relationship existing between the signifier and the signified components of signs, and with problems in the definition of signs. It is also concerned with recognizing the relationship of semiotics to developmental psychology and ethology. (Available from Semiotica, Co-Libri, P.O. Box 482, The Hague 2076, The Netherlands)

Attempts to develop a critical thinking model which will teach students to cope effectively with advertising. (RB)