Saleh Ramadan | AlZaytoonah University of Jordan (original) (raw)

Papers by Saleh Ramadan

Meaning is so intangible that one group of linguists , the structuralists , preferred not to deal... more Meaning is so intangible that one group of linguists , the structuralists , preferred not to deal with it or rely on it at all. It is a variable and not to be taken for granted. Nevertheless , many theories have been interested in the study of meaning. Because of the limited scope of this paper, the discussion will cover some of the well–known theories of meaning formulated in the last century. Mainly referential theory of meaning, non– referential theory of meaning and generative grammarian theory of meaning are discussed. Some assumptions, merits and limitations for each theory are also described. The researcher hopes that many people can benefit from this article since meaning is a complex concept and difficult to understand.

Romanian Journal of English Studies, 2015

This study tries to identify, classify, describe and find out the causes of the morphological err... more This study tries to identify, classify, describe and find out the causes of the morphological errors made by the fourth year university students majoring in English in Jordan. The students who participated in the study were 20 students from Al–Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan. The procedure followed was essay writing. After analyzing the errors, the study shows that (a) the students’ competence in English morphology is poor and (b) The errors are caused by some factors such as the inconsistency in English as well as misapplication of rules. Interference and overgeneralization are also other causes. Since the course of morphology is selective in the university plan, it is also considered as an important cause. In order to reduce their errors, the researcher has suggested some remedies.

Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2013

Previous research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) states that listene... more Previous research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) states that listeners and readers make many inferences in their attempts to understand oral and written discourse. This paper tries to explore the types of inference listeners / readers make to understand language. It also investigates the role of each type in the course of understanding a text. Ke : Inferences , Comprehension , Artificial Intelligence , Psycholinguistic Theories Introduction Inferences serve a variety of functions in language comprehension. The main function of inference is linking information from different parts of a text in order to establish its literal meaning. Among other things, they can be used to identify an unclearly pronounced word, to resolve a lexical ambiguity, to determine the referent of a pronoun, and to compute an intended message from a literal meaning. To some extent, exploring the inferences listeners / readers make and their roles in the comprehension of language comes from common sense and from research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence(AI). Garnham (1989) states that although there is some truth in answers from these sources, they are to a greater or lesser extent misleading. Common sense is never a very good source of psycholinguistic theories because we simply do not have conscious access to most of the processes of language understanding. Since the discourse analyst, like the hearer / reader, has no direct access to a speaker's / writer's intended meaning in producing a text, he often has to rely on a process of inference to arrive at an interpretation for oral and written texts or for connections between utterances / sentences. Inferences that achieve the coherence of the representation by making backward links are deductive inferences made during reading, whereas inferences that do not create coherence, often

Meaning is so intangible that one group of linguists , the structuralists , preferred not to deal... more Meaning is so intangible that one group of linguists , the structuralists , preferred not to deal with it or rely on it at all. It is a variable and not to be taken for granted. Nevertheless , many theories have been interested in the study of meaning. Because of the limited scope of this paper, the discussion will cover some of the well–known theories of meaning formulated in the last century. Mainly referential theory of meaning, non– referential theory of meaning and generative grammarian theory of meaning are discussed. Some assumptions, merits and limitations for each theory are also described. The researcher hopes that many people can benefit from this article since meaning is a complex concept and difficult to understand.

Romanian Journal of English Studies, 2015

This study tries to identify, classify, describe and find out the causes of the morphological err... more This study tries to identify, classify, describe and find out the causes of the morphological errors made by the fourth year university students majoring in English in Jordan. The students who participated in the study were 20 students from Al–Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan. The procedure followed was essay writing. After analyzing the errors, the study shows that (a) the students’ competence in English morphology is poor and (b) The errors are caused by some factors such as the inconsistency in English as well as misapplication of rules. Interference and overgeneralization are also other causes. Since the course of morphology is selective in the university plan, it is also considered as an important cause. In order to reduce their errors, the researcher has suggested some remedies.

Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2013

Previous research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) states that listene... more Previous research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) states that listeners and readers make many inferences in their attempts to understand oral and written discourse. This paper tries to explore the types of inference listeners / readers make to understand language. It also investigates the role of each type in the course of understanding a text. Ke : Inferences , Comprehension , Artificial Intelligence , Psycholinguistic Theories Introduction Inferences serve a variety of functions in language comprehension. The main function of inference is linking information from different parts of a text in order to establish its literal meaning. Among other things, they can be used to identify an unclearly pronounced word, to resolve a lexical ambiguity, to determine the referent of a pronoun, and to compute an intended message from a literal meaning. To some extent, exploring the inferences listeners / readers make and their roles in the comprehension of language comes from common sense and from research in experimental psychology and artificial intelligence(AI). Garnham (1989) states that although there is some truth in answers from these sources, they are to a greater or lesser extent misleading. Common sense is never a very good source of psycholinguistic theories because we simply do not have conscious access to most of the processes of language understanding. Since the discourse analyst, like the hearer / reader, has no direct access to a speaker's / writer's intended meaning in producing a text, he often has to rely on a process of inference to arrive at an interpretation for oral and written texts or for connections between utterances / sentences. Inferences that achieve the coherence of the representation by making backward links are deductive inferences made during reading, whereas inferences that do not create coherence, often