| 释义 |
lexigram, n. Linguistics.|ˈlɛksɪgræm|
[f. Gr. λέξι-ς word + -gram.]
Any of a set of symbols representing words; spec. one of those used in the investigation of language learning by chimpanzees.
1973Times-Herald-Rec. (Middletown, N.Y.) 30 Apr. 24/1 Scientists are teaching a young chimpanzee named Lana to punch out ‘sentences’... The keyboard uses symbols instead of words. Lana knows between 35 and 40 of the 45 symbols—called lexigrams. 1978Amer. Speech LIII. 272 For Rumbaugh's program, von Glasersfeld designed one [sc. language-like system] in which the unit signals are visual configurations of uniform size, dubbed ‘lexigrams’. 1980Nature 24 Apr. 685/1 Their chimpanzees seem to have the ability to use a lexigram or geometric design such as the design for ‘key’, in a highly specific context, but become bewildered upon its application to a wider array of contexts. 1985Amer. Jrnl. Mental Deficiency XC. 185/2 Smith and White found that their four severely retarded subjects, who had extensive experience..with lexigrams, responded as accurately to English words as they did to lexigrams. 1991Discover Mar. 20/2 Kanzi [sc. a chimpanzee]..pointed to the lexigram for ‘chase’, and scampered playfully away. |