Many personal names in Temne (a Mel language spoken in Sierra Leone) are borrowed from other languages, containing foreign sounds and sequences which are unpronounceable for Temne speakers when they appear in other words. These exceptions are treated as instances of phonological stereotyping (cases remaining resistant to assimilation processes).…

The alternating and mixed use of Swedish and Finnish and special trade slang in three relatively small firms (employing a total of 678 employees, 40 percent of whom were Swedish-speaking, 56 percent Finnish-speaking, and 4 percent bilingual) in the bilingual city of Vasa, Finland was analyzed. (CB)

Suggests that speech act theory can help researchers and teachers in professional communication to define indirectness more precisely and to determine when it is appropriate and can provide them with a means of analyzing texts and refining rhetorical principles. (ARH)

The bilingual speech of members of Spanish, Portuguese, and Algerian communities in France was examined, and a model proposed for classification of code-switching according to speakers' intentions and the dynamics of the interaction. (Author/CB)

This document was written to support the work of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs. The message provided is straightforward: we can meet the challenge of supporting first and second language development in preschool children. This paper is organized around four questions: (1) Can we facilitate children's acquisition of English…

Assesses how discrimination and biculturalism have affected the Chicanos' ability to communicate bilingually in a monolingual society. Using a historical perspective, the sociocultural significance of Chicano bilingualism is discussed in terms of code switching, language dominance, and cultural values. (JAC)

Analyzes the language acquisition of a bilingual (Estonian/English) child. Discusses his preference for acquiring whole words as opposed to inflections and offers several possible reasons for this particular learning strategy. (EKN)

Examines code switching occurring during group work in English-as-a-Second-Language classes in Spain in which the learners share a first language. Argues that the discourse produced in this context is layered as the participants oscillate between a literal (off-record) and a nonliteral (on-record) frame. Suggests that the significance of language…

Examines how teachers and learners in eastern and southern Africa code switch between English and their first languages in science and mathematics lessons. Uses empirical classroom data to show that code switching is a valuable linguistic resource in education. (Author/VWL)

Proposes that code switching (CS) and code mixing are natural phenomena that may result in increased competency in various communicative contexts. Both assets and deficits of CS are analyzed, and an ethnographic approach to the variable underlying CS is recommended. (32 references) (Author/VWL)

Assists teachers involved in bilingual instruction in improving their understanding of two aspects of bilingual development: interlanguage and of code-switching. Both are natural and creative outgrowths of being bilingual, i.e., alternative forms created by the cognitive/conceptual synthesis of two languages. (30 references) (CK)

In a study of bilingual speech production, data were collected from 771 unintentional language switches by 45 Dutch learners of English at 3 different proficiency levels. One finding was that the occurrence of language switch was related to learner proficiency in English. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/LB)

In describing the different types of codeswitching used in Dakar, this paper questions the frequent assumption that the use of two languages within a single conversation violates a norm. In Dakar there is a fluid and unmarked switching between Wolof and French, "Urban Wolof," that has become the most common mode of speech among urban…

Analysis of English stress patterns and perceptual pattern of the six Vietnamese tones in code-switching reveals a significant proportion of the high tone group at the point of switching. This, together with the phonological compatibility between Vietnamese tones of high- and mid-level pitch and English stressed/unstressed syllable patterns,…

Bilingual Latino high school students who studied Spanish as an academic subject demonstrated a heightened awareness of how to use their two languages as complementary resources in school and professional settings. A case study traces one student's literacy development in Spanish over 4 years and her ability to use it as a resource in her…