Translation Hypothesis Research Articles

The noun-category bias phenomenon in 3-year-olds: Taxonomic constraint or translation?

Preschool children exposed to a novel noun label (e.g., “dax”) for a standard picture (e.g., a dog) in a match-to-sample task are biased to match the standard with a picture based on taxonomic relations (e.g., another dog) rather than thematic relations (e.g., a dog bone). This phenomenon, called a noun-category bias, has been interpreted as a generalized constraint on word learning that predisposes children to interpret novel nouns in terms of category relations. This experiment tested the generality of this phenomenon across important variations in the match-to-sample task. It also examined an alternative interpretation of the phenomenon called the translation hypothesis, which suggests that the noun-category bias is mediated by the child's translation of the novel label into a familiar word. The data revealed: (a) that the phenomenon generalizes to a three-choice, match-to-sample procedure including taxonomic, thematic, and irrelevant choices; (b) that exposure to either a novel noun label during each choice trial, or to a labelling pretreatment game prior to the match-to-sample task is sufficient both to induce the noun-category bias and to increase spontaneous naming of the standard picture with familiar words; and (c) that there is essentially a zero correlation between the tendency to name the standard picture and the frequency of taxonomic choices during the match-to-sample task.

Problems of the salient-features coding hypothesis: Comment on Weeks and Proctor.

The finding that stimulus-response (S-R) effects can be obtained also with orthogonal S-R sets (i.e., above-below stimuli paired with right-left responses) seems difficult to reconcile with a translation-based account of spatial S-R compatibility. Weeks and Proctor (1990) have shown that the translation process operates on the basis of a salient-features coding principle. The purpose of this discussion is to outline some problems of Weeks and Proctor's proposal. In particular, it is argued that the salient-features coding hypothesis (a) does not take into consideration those spatial S-R compatibility effects that occur in an irrelevant stimulus dimension, (b) likely applies only to codes that are verbal in nature, and (c) lacks the simplicity that is an important characteristic of the original translation hypothesis. An alternative explanation of orthogonal S-R compatibility effects is presented

The case for reverse translation

The theoretical and experimental evidence for a “reverse translation” mechanism in animal cells is reviewed. Mekler's (1967) theory is presented as the most likely means for reverse translation. This theory is shown to be consistent with the postulate of the “central dogma” that molecular information does not pass out of protein molecules once it has gotten in. The importance of nucleic acid changes in: (1) the immune response, (2) evolution, (3) cancer, (4) cell differentiation, and (5) learning in animal brains is mentioned and each topic is related to the reverse translation hypothesis. Because of the intense research effort in immunology, the experimental data which indicate an active role for antigen in antibody formation and the data indicating the importance of RNA in the immune response are dealt with more thoroughly.

On the use of Taylor's translation hypothesis for diffusion in the mixed layer

AbstractDiffusion measurements in a modelled mixed layer support the equivalence of an instantaneous line‐source concentration field without a mean wind and a continuous point source with a mean wind when use is made of Taylor's translation hypothesis. Taylor's hypothesis as applied to mixed‐layer diffusion appears to break down in this type of flow for values of s̀u/U > 0.5, where s̀u is the horizontal turbulence velocity component and U is the uniform mean wind. Variations in expected levels of cross‐wind integrated concentration are presented as a function of height and distance downstream from the source for a sampling duration of 4zi/U, where zi is the mixed‐layer depth.

On the use of Taylor's translation hypothesis for diffusion in the mixed layer

On the use of Taylor's translation hypothesis for diffusion in the mixed layer

Deformation lamellae in quartz from the Ajibik formation, Michigan

Petrofabric study of a specimen of quartzite from a shear zone in the Ajibik formation of the Marquette district, Michigan, contributes the following to the quartz lamellae problem: Excellent orientation relations of the deformation lamellae and crystal axes indicate the control of the quartz orientation by the lamellae rather than by the axes. A translation hypothesis is considered to explain the relations best. A fixed glide line [ m : r ] and variable glide planes containing [ m : r ] satisfy best the irrational lamellae planes and the restricted orientation of the axes associated with them. The character of the lamellae orientation leads to the tentative conclusion that the strain was nonrotational. The possibility is mentioned that some of the quartz maxima in recrystallized tectonites may be remnants of axis concentrations related to lamellae which have since been obliterated by the recrystallization.

Some Verses in Daniel in the Light of a Translation Hypothesis

Some Verses in Daniel in the Light of a Translation Hypothesis

Principles for Testing the Translation Hypothesis in the Gospels

Principles for Testing the Translation Hypothesis in the Gospels

Mark's Transitions and the Translation Hypothesis

Mark's Transitions and the Translation Hypothesis