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This document describes a format for analyzing the information content of sentences and the language patterns that accompany particular information content. The author writes in terms of information structures, each information structure having a corresponding linguistic structure composed of distinctive features. The information structure of a given sentence and its corresponding linguistic structure are frequently conditioned by context, particularly the preceding sentence. The paper illustrates the determination of 12 different information structure types, to which correspond a total of 16 different linguistic structure types. Most of the examples are in German. (VM)

This paper explains the main concepts of communicative grammar and provides a detailed view of how communicative grammar analyses language at various levels. Language is discussed in terms of communication; the central elements in the analysis are those that carry information. Communicative grammar seeks to describe the process of the linguistic formulation of a thought. Details for analysis are provided here along with examples. Implications for theoretical, applied, and computational linguistics, language instruction, and translation are noted. A bibliography is included. (VM)

The formulas presented in this paper provide the means for showing the ease with which scientific information can be passed from one language into another. The formulas are based on several factors. The linguistic barrier can be measured to illustrate the relative degree of difference between two languages based on a comparison of vocabulary, morphology, syntax, grammar, and writing systems. The influx of scientific information from the foreign language to the native language is directly proportional to the volume of relevant scientific publications in the foreign language and their availability, and is indirectly proportional to the linguistic barrier. Linguistic characteristics of the individual are also an important factor in this consideration. Some linguistic communities are at a disadvantage in receiving scientific information in comparison to others. It would be advisable for each linguistic community to devise a strategy for overcoming linguistic barriers by developing educational programs with all these considerations in mind. (VM)