Discusses the ethnographic investigation of a multilingual adolescent peer group in which various forms of second/other-language learner status had considerable social significance. The study illustrates the ways a repertoire of languages and language learner statuses serve as differentiated resources adolescents draw on to define community and…

Discusses the study of second language learning motivation, and suggests that social and psychological aspects of language learning and use are a source of fruitful exploration. Calls for a triangulation of methodology, using hard sociolinguistic data and personal statements from second language learners. Provides examples from studies of…

Offers a survey of recent codification efforts of the Romani language, a stateless, non-territorial language with no written tradition. In a pragmatic corpus analysis, three action-oriented functions of Romani codification are identified: a communicative function, on emblematic function, and a mobilizing-rallying function. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the measurement of lexical richness. Lexical richness is often measured either by the traditional type-token ratio or by its square root variant, the index of Guiraud. Proposes two methods that have advantages over traditional methods. Computed indices for the lexical items used in an oral text by two groups of Turkish-German…

Investigated the behaviors for processing language input demonstrated by five adults beginning to learn Hindi as a second language through the Total Physical Response method. The study suggests that, when adult learners are provided with comprehensive input, they engage in a variety of behaviors to extract meaning from it. (73 references) (GLR)

EKTB, a new transliteration scheme for Hebrew based on the historical development of the alphabet, treats Latin characters as graphic variants of Hebrew letters and permits Hebrew to be used with standard equipment while maintaining its traditional writing methodology. (Author/CB)

Discusses a study on the untutored acquisition of possessive constructions in Dutch by two Turkish and two Moroccan adults during the first three years of their stay in the Netherlands. The focus is on the order of the owner and the possession in possessive constructions. (28 references) (JL)

Focuses on semicommunication and accommodation and discusses two longer extracts from a large corpus of authentic communication from Scandinavia. Various aspects of a comprehensive model of semicommunication are presented and discussed, showing code switching and accommodation are not considered antagonistic but rather as scalar phenomena covering…

A contrastive analysis of Hebrew and English dress and cooking verbs and their noun/object collocations supports a series of generalizations about second-language learning and reveals that psychosociolinguistic and situational factors influence the behavior of both native and foreign users of language. (Author/CB)

Examined the intonation of second-language speakers of English from three language groups--Spanish, Japanese, and Thai--focusing on how native nonnative speakers use intonation to signal meaning in the structure of their discourse. Results revealed that nonnative speakers did not consistently use pitch to signal meaningful contrasts in many…

Addresses the fate of languages acquired during childhood that have not been used in a long time to find out if they are lost, overridden by other languages acquired later, or maintained despite a lack of use. German subjects were tested for their knowledge of Dutch, which they acquired as a second language during childhood. (Author/VWL)

Investigated similarities and differences between Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals using a modified version of the discourse completion test. Thirty U.S. interviews resulted in 298 refusals, and 24 Egyptian interviews resulted in 250 refusals. Results indicate both groups use similar strategies with similar frequency in making…

Explores similarities and differences in native- and second- language referential communication through review of an experiment in which native Dutch speakers described unconventional abstract shapes first in Dutch and then in English. Subjects exhibited a preference, in both languages, for describing shapes in a holistic rather than segmental…

Twelve business telephone conversations were analyzed to determine intercultural differences between speakers of Finnish and speakers of American English. Intercultural differences were found in the use of nontopical elements, "how are you" sequences, and interruption behavior. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/LB)

Comments are offered on an earlier paper on theory construction in second-language acquisition. A critical perspective is offered that is characterized by the ethical foundations of theory construction (and scientific activity in general) and the grounding of theory in practical activity. (60 references) (Author/LB)