Journal

Volume 5, Issue 1 (January 31, 2004)

4 articles

• The Acquisition of Chinese Characters: Corpus Analyses and Connectionist Simulations
  by Hongbing Xing, Hua Shu, & P¡ng L¡
  J. CS. 2004, 5(1), 1-49;
  Abstract Empirical evidence has accumulated that regularity and consistency in orthography-to-phonology correspondence both affect the processing and acquisition of Chinese characters, and that they interact with character frequency in complex ways. However, despite growing interests in the Chinese orthograp... [Read more].
  Abstract Empirical evidence has accumulated that regularity and consistency in orthography-to-phonology correspondence both affect the processing and acquisition of Chinese characters, and that they interact with character frequency in complex ways. However, despite growing interests in the Chinese orthography, few previous studies have systematically analyzed these effects on a large scale, or have modeled the acquisition process using connectionist networks. In this study, we set out to analyze a realistic character corpus as learned by children in Chinese elementary school, in order to evaluate the degree to which corpus analysis can inform us of the roles that regularity, consistency, frequency, and their interactions play in children’s acquisition of Chinese characters. We further modeled character acquisition in a selforganizing connectionist network, developing orthographic representations on the basis of our analysis of character properties in a large-scale character corpus. Our model is able to faithfully capture the orthographic similarities of Chinese characters, and moreover, display effects of regularity, consistency, character frequency, and the complex interactions among them, matching up well with available empirical evidence on children’s acquisition of characters during the elementary school years. [Collapse]
• From Psych-Nouns to Psych-Adjectives in French: Some Semantics Insights
  by J. C. Anscombre
  J. CS. 2004, 5(1), 51-71;
  Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the semantic properties of psychological adjectives (or in brief, psych-adjectives) in French. The main part of this work intends to determine whether or not there exists a cluster of semantic properties that can reasonably be attached to such a subclass of adject... [Read more].
  Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the semantic properties of psychological adjectives (or in brief, psych-adjectives) in French. The main part of this work intends to determine whether or not there exists a cluster of semantic properties that can reasonably be attached to such a subclass of adjectives. To start with, this study examines the morphological configurations of such psych-adjectives, and the kinship — if any — with psych-nouns and/or psych-verbs as well. A second point will be to show that there is no one-to-one correspondence between psych-adjectives and psych-nouns, as far as semantic properties are concerned. A third point will be the study of some aspectual and temporal characteristics of psych-adjectives. Among others properties, there is no proper duration attached to the process they refer to. The last point is devoted to discuss the possible existence of ergative psych-adjectives, on the basis of some semantic properties, since it is a well-known fact that the psychological domain is closely related to problems of agentivity: the experiencer is never an agent. [Collapse]
• Projective Feature Geometry: a Case Study in Korean Assimilation
  by S. -Y. Kuroda
  J. CS. 2004, 5(1), 73-105;
  Abstract I propose a design for feature geometry. Degrees of sonority and voice quality are each represented by right branching trees that incorporate markedness conventions. I introduce the idea of projection reversal; this allows us to contextualize markedness conventions. With the proposed feature geometr... [Read more].
  Abstract I propose a design for feature geometry. Degrees of sonority and voice quality are each represented by right branching trees that incorporate markedness conventions. I introduce the idea of projection reversal; this allows us to contextualize markedness conventions. With the proposed feature geometry, sonorant assimilation in Korean, which looks on the surface like very complicated data, is shown to be an optimal solution for adjusting sonority at the syllable boundary. [Collapse]
• On Embedded Implicatures
  by Uli Sauerland
  J. CS. 2004, 5(1), 107-137;
  Abstract The Gricean approach explains implicatures by assumptions about the pragmatics of entire utterances. The phenomenon of embedded implicatures remains a challenge for this approach since in such cases apparently implicatures contribute to the truth-conditional content of constituents smaller than utte... [Read more].
  Abstract The Gricean approach explains implicatures by assumptions about the pragmatics of entire utterances. The phenomenon of embedded implicatures remains a challenge for this approach since in such cases apparently implicatures contribute to the truth-conditional content of constituents smaller than utterances. In this paper, I investigate three areas where embedded implicatures seem to differ from implicatures at the utterance level: optionality, epistemic status, and implicated presuppositions. I conclude that the differences between the two kinds of implicatures justify an approach that maintains Gricean assumptions at the utterance level, and assumes a special operator for embedded implicatures. [Collapse]