This article reports the findings of a study undertaken to document and explain the use of English in signage in Costa Rica, a Spanish-speaking country. The linguistic landscape has emerged as an important, viable field of research. In order to investigate how, when, and why the use of English manifests itself, a corpus of 169 photographs of signs…

This paper discussed the relationship between language, ecology, and culture, and claimed that the study of linguistic communication as pragmatics should not be confined to the traditional context, but should focus on a broader ecological environment. It analyzed the context of practical communication from the perspective of language ecology…

With the population of English learners (EL) entering Texas public schools increasing, it is essential to understand how the current school system supports these students. This study investigated the language used in school handbooks as a predictor of English Language Learners' (ELL) academic outcomes in Texas independent school districts. Student…

This paper draws on two research activities to discuss the role of research at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 1997, the CLL introduced languages for all into this Caribbean higher education (HE) context. The CLL also introduced an expanded…

This article puts forward a solution to the impending shortage of culturally and linguistically competent interpreters: the education of heritage signers as heritage language learners. It examines the current landscape of American Sign Language (ASL) as a course of study and the difficulties heritage signers report when they begin learning ASL. In…

The success of programs that are focused on revitalizing an endangered language depends on careful implementation. This paper examines four common mistakes that are made when linguists and anthropologists get involved with documenting endangered languages or participating in revitalization efforts: a failure to appreciate the complexity of the…

The Nga Manu Speech Contest has grown to be one of the biggest and most positive events for New Zealand secondary school students where competitors articulate their thoughts and aspirations in both Maori and English. The contest is acknowledged as an avenue that enhances language and cultural development amongst Maori youth, yet no formal…

Discusses the differences in power among people of all societies, which are reflected by pronoun usage (or other grammatical indications) or, in the case of English, by some other linguistic means. Since English can no longer distinguish solidarity and power by means of pronouns, it relies on the use of first names and titles to accomplish the…

THIS DOCUMENT COMPRISES THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION TO A SELECTION OF WRITINGS COMPILED AND EDITED BY M.M. GUXMAN--"VOPROSY FORMIROVANIJA I RAZVITIJA NACIONAL'NYX JAZYKOV (PROBLEMS OF THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL LANGUAGES)," MOSCOW, 1960. GUXMAN'S VOLUME IS A COLLECTION OF DETAILED STUDIES OF LANGUAGES…

Focuses on several myths and fallacies prevalent in the field of French grammar. The importance of keeping up-to-date with language and grammatical usage is stressed, since the rules of language do change. Thus, the validity of the linguistic content of French grammar books must be questioned, so that any outmoded or invalid concepts can be…

The current political debates in England highlight the role of language in citizenship, social exclusion, and discrimination. Similar debates can also be found around the world. Correspondingly, research addressing different language communities is burgeoning. Service providers and academics are increasingly employing bilingual community…

Noting that intercultural understanding is a prime construct in the study of intercultural communication, this paper examines two questions that confront all intercultural communication researchers: (1) What are the underlying characteristics of intercultural understanding? and (2) What constitutes an interpretative perspective to intercultural…

Examines the nonstandard constructions in Caipira Portuguese, a dialect spoken in southeastern Brazil, which illustrate a tendency to reduce morphological redundancy at the noun phrase level. This is accomplished by restricting plural markers to only one of the elements of the noun phrase--not the noun, as might be expected, but, rather, one its…

Describes the first research project in England to focus on the importance of societal bilingualism in the development of education policies. A more comprehensive database on patterns of bilingualism and language learning both in and out of school is suggested in order to facilitate further research on linguistic minorities. (SL)

ORIENTALISTS HAVE OBSERVED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL "STANDARD" LANGUAGES OF CHINA AND JAPAN AS A GRADUAL REPLACEMENT OF THE OLD "WRITTEN-LITERARY" LANGUAGE BY THE "COLLOQUIAL" SPOKEN LANGUAGE. THE AUTHOR DEFINES "WRITTEN-LITERARY" LANGUAGE, CORRESPONDING TO "WEN-YEN" IN CHINESE AND…