The usage of Spanish address terms is investigated to explore the predictability and variability in the behavior of non-Indians and Quechua Indians in Peru. The behavior variations are related to differential "power" and "solidarity" between the two ethnic groups and differential "solidarity" within the Quecha group.…

A technique for illustrating to foreign language students how diversity can exist within a given culture uses taped interviews on a specific topic with different individuals. Students have a chance to analyze sociocultural patterns and make linguistic comparisons and generalizations. (MSE)

Presents a list of 46 new socio-political terms in Spanish that are being used more frequently in literature today. Definitions of the terms are included as well as the sources where the terms were used. (NCR)

This case study of the literacy strategies used by a young adolescent male with learning disability revealed that the student produced unsophisticated literacy behaviors in traditional academic contexts, whereas more sophisticated uses were exhibited in contexts that bridged the student's personal and cultural knowledge to literacy use in the…

Examines Australia's reverse language shift (RLS), presenting eight stages of RLS for immigrant-derived and Aboriginal languages and noting the severity of intergenerational dislocation. Aboriginal languages are dying quickly, and language shift continues in immigrant-based community languages. Steps to encourage second language learning are often…

Examines ways in which Noah Webster's linguistic theories and work on dictionaries influenced North American English lexicography, arguing that his impact on American education was great because his spellers and dictionaries monopolized a rapidly growing market, and influence on lexicography was substantial because he insisted on the validity of…

In this paper we propose the construct of discursive identity as a way to examine student discourse. We drew from the work of Gee (2001, Review of Research in Education, 25, 99-125) and Nasir and Saxe (2003, Educational Researcher, 32(5), 14-18) to consider the multiple contexts and developmental timescales of student discursive identity…

Both spoken and written Polish have undergone profound changes during the past twenty-eight years. The increasing urbanization of Polish culture and the forced change in Polish society are the main factors influencing the change in the language. Indirect evidence of changes which have occurred in the vocabulary and idioms of spoken Polish in the…

Gumperz and Hymes have stated the theoretical goal of one type of sociolinguistic investigation as the characterization of communicative competence, "what a speaker needs to know to communicate effectively in culturally significant settings." This knowledge is seen as describable by a set of rules constraining verbal behavior in reference to…

This volume contains nine papers presented at a discussion session on language planning at the 1972 Georgetown University Round Table. Papers by Bjorn H. Jernudd and Joan Rubin emphsize language planning as only one kind of treatment for language problems. Aaron Bar-Adon and T. P. Gorman discuss language treatment activities, indicating that local…

Examination of the West German language and society suggests that the notion that the West German indigenous working class is separated from the middle class by a linguistic barrier is invalid. (Author/CB)

Statistical data from the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Education reveals societal patterns of language shift. The data can confirm the adequacy of theories of the causality of language shift. Examination of the data indicates geographic regions where language shift has occurred and is likely to occur. (PMJ)

Examines the theoretical framework of psychologist Lev Vygotsky with regard to communication tools, cognition, and socio-cultural effects on these tools. Reports the results of several studies of students' word meanings of division by adapting Luria's instruments for alternative assessments. Discusses the implications of socio-cultural diversity,…

This paper discusses concepts of language socialization and their importance to assessment and intervention with culturally diverse children with hearing impairments. It notes that culturally appropriate models of intervention are based on the understanding that ways of talking with children are culturally based and reflect underlying beliefs…

The distinction between the culture of a country and the culture of an individual is discussed, and its implications for second-language teaching are examined, particularly in the multicultural classroom. This concept is illustrated through use of a French travel and for second-language instruction. (MSE)