The concept of a speech community is investigated within the theoretical frameworks of sociology and linguistics, and it is concluded that the collective competence models of Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky are inadequate. They fail in that they are limited as linguistic models which have consistently overlooked the sociological importance…

The cognitive levels of 60 children from grades one, three, and five were compared with their linguistic performance on selected examples of similes and metaphors. Cognitive level was measured using Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices; a new instrument was developed to assess children's linguistic performance. Results indicated a significant…

A study is reported in which pairs of synonyms, antonyms, coordinates, and super super-subordinates were presented dichotically to university students. After each pair the subject reported what he heard. In one condition the two members of a pair were presented simultaneously, and in another they were presented sequentially. (Author/RM)

Experiments are reported in which semantically interrelating sentences were presented to subjects as discrete items, and inference tests were given to measure the degree to which the similar information had been stored in the same memory system. Results suggest that verbal information is sometimes encoded into an episodic system. (Author/RM)

Reports on an experiment conducted on 23 Israeli kindergarteners and 16 Israeli college students, which used a variant of a semantic differential test in order to test the hypothesis that young Israeli children, like adults, ascribe sexual meanings to words without regard to grammatical gender. (Author/AM)

Recent research is reviewed demonstrating positive effects of bilingualism on cognitive development, some explanation of this research are given, and an interpretation is offered bearing on the variability of memory codes in bilinguals. Results of a study dealing with memory codes are presented and discussed. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Investigates covert linguistic behavior of two groups: above-average and below-average users of language. Found that the below-average group manifested higher levels of subvocal motor activity than the above-average group during simulated tasks, but that during pausing episodes while writing, the remedial group manifested lower levels of subvocal…

Reports on three experiments that explored the metalinguistic competence of 26 deaf students to segment and manipulate their fingerspelled lexicons. Indicates their metalinguistic sophistication correlated selectively and significantly with reading success. Also reports on a training experiment that showed that deaf students identified more sight…

Examines (in two experiments) the effects of schematic and proposition-specific processing on long term story memory. Determines that recall of idea units was an additive function of the idea's importance. Finds that both proposition-specific and schema-related processing are important for long-term retention of narrative prose. (SKC)

Reviews research that demonstrates parallels between general linguistic and cognitive processes in human language acquisition and avian acquisition of song and discusses how such research may provide new insights into the processes of second-language acquisition. (Author/CB)

Describes a study done to determine whether the degree of children's familiarity with component words was related to (1) their ability to produce productive patterns as opposed to associative and grouping patterns, and (2) their ability to use broader scope rather than lexically based patterns. (SED)

Explores the problem of implicit and explicit knowledge in a second language. The theoretical characterizations of Bialystok and Krashen are shown to be unsatisfactory in addressing these two problems. Some characteristics of explicit knowledge that any improved theory should be able to explain are considered. (SED)

Alaska native children tend toward academic difficulties due to the mismatch between school curricula and their linguistic and culturally-based cognitive skills. Data derived from a rigorous linguistic approach, which analyzes their actual speech to identify cognitive abilities, would assist researchers and curriculum designers improve school…

Describes two experiments in which Ss were given 48 trials, using word lists as stimuli, followed by an unexpected final free recall test. (Author/RM)