In a previous study we have found that non-tone language speakers are able to form lexical tone categories through extracting frequency distribution in training, but only when attention is directed towards the distribution [12]. This study extends the distributional learning literature by investigating how tone language speakers’ linguistic experience with tones affects their distributional lea...

There is general agreement that perisylvian language cortex plays a major role in lexical and semantic processing; but the contribution of additional, more widespread, brain areas in the processing of different semantic word categories remains controversial. We investigated word processing in two groups of patients whose neurodegenerative diseases preferentially affect specific parts of the bra...

Despite arguments for the relative ease of learning common noun meanings, semantic development continues well past the early years of language acquisition even for names of concrete objects. We studied evolution of the use of common nouns during later lexical development. Children aged 5–14 years and adults named common household objects and their naming patterns were compared. Children showed ...

Categories are not invariant. This paper attempts to explore the dynamic nature of semantic category, in particular, that of fashion language, based on the cognitive theory of Dawkins’ memetics, a new theory of cultural evolution. Semantic attributes of linguistic memes decrease or proliferate in replication and spreading, which involves a dynamic development of semantic category. More specific...

Multi-talker variability has been found to be very effective in the perception and production training of nonnative sound categories in the past few decades. The phonetic training paradigms were mostly explicit learning in which learners received feedback of the categories when exposed to the training stimuli. More recently, studies have started to investigate how auditory categories are learne...

in his book quranic studies, wansbrough presents two criteria of style and function for typification of old commentatorial texts before al-tabari. recognizing twelve commentatorial devices and borrowing some expressions from jewish commentatorial works, he divides old quranic commentaries into five categories of parabolic, juristic, textual, rhetorical, and analogical. based on literary analysi...