Until recently most models of word recognition have assumed that semantic effects come into play only after the identification of the word in question. What little evidence exists for early semantic effects in word recognition has relied primarily on priming manipulations using the lexical decision task, and has used visual stimulus presentation.…

Properties of the input, such as raw frequency and syntactic diversity, have been shown to play a role, to different extents, in the acquisition of nouns and verbs. This study investigated the relationship between three properties of the input (input frequency, syntactic diversity, and variety in noun-type co-occurrence) and age of acquisition of…

Two experiments examined the role of perceptual complexity, object familiarity and form class cues on how children interpret novel adjectives and count nouns. Four-year-old children participated in a forced-choice match-to-target task in which an exemplar was named with a novel word and children were asked to choose another one that matched the…

The present investigation is a study of the definitional style of nouns and verbs in typically developing school-age children. A total of 30 children in upper-elementary grades provided verbal definitions for 10 common high-frequency nouns (e.g., apple, boat, baby) and 10 common high- frequency verbs (e.g., climb, sing, throw). All definitions…

The discussion of Nweh, a Bantu language, focuses on a group of adjectives that can occur in positions where one would expect a noun, and which appear to enter noun classification. Specifically, the reasons that these adjectives have noun properties and that the pronominal class marker for the adjective is invariant are investigated. First, the…

Tone-based classification rules for Igbo nouns need modification because: (1) class 1 nouns (monosyllables with high tones) do not, as claimed, operate differently from other terminal high-tone nouns; and (2) class 6 nouns (di-syllabic with downstep tones) can be accounted for within class 2 and class 3 nouns known as HH and LH nouns). The proper…

Approximately 90 citations are included in this annotated bibliography on the Kiowa-Tanoan languages: Kiowa (Oklahoma) and Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa (New Mexico and Arizona). Both published and unpublished works are included. Among the sources are the following publications: American Anthropologist; Anthropological Linguistics; Bulletin of the Bureau…

This paper examines the differences between locative expressions in Kpelle and English, based on the dialect of one native speaker of Kpelle. It discusses the crucial role of the reference object in defining the meaning of locatives in Kpelle, in contrast to English, where the characteristics of the object to be located are less important. An…

A study of infant language acquisition investigated the possibility that perceptual or attentional tendencies may guide early word learning by directing infants' attention in linguistically relevant ways. In the experiment, infants aged 9 to 13 months watched a puppet show; with some children, sentences labeling either the objects (noun-frame…

Reflexives and reciprocals in Ixil, a Mayan language of Guatemala, appear to have features that distinguish them from reflexives surveyed in typological studies such as Faltz (1985) and Geniusiene (1987). Third person reflexives and reciprocals seem to have the form of a possessed noun optionally followed by a possessor NP. Moreover, reflexives…

Deals with problems encountered by English learners of French in learning to use nouns, articles and the present tense, and in using them together. A way to revise the presentation of the French noun-article system and to make the identification of nouns and articles easier is presented. (CLK)

A theoretical discussion of analogy formation and differentiation in language learning, followed by teaching hints on the German nominative case, stressing progressively increasing difficulty in the "analogical" and "differentiating" exercises. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Rules for determining word stress for verbs, nouns and adjectives are given as a useful tool for foreign learners of English. (CJ)

The concept of register refers to variations in language determined by function, medium and formality or style. An examination of the registers of verb forms and noun phrases yielded results important to the writer of English language courses. (CK)

Some of the new statistical research of Wladimir D. Admoni and the language typology work of Winfred P. Lehmann is presented. It is then shown that the results of the two methods can be put together to bring forth new knowledge about the present-day tendencies of German syntax. (Text is in German.) (TL)