Discusses the major language shift in Singapore from the familial use of varieties of Chinese other than Mandarin towards the languages of education, English and Mandarin. An ethnographic study is presented of a Singaporean Chinese family that has moved from Cantonese to English, and the underlying pressures leading to this shift are examined. (19…

In a sociohistorical variation analysis of verb inflection in Early Modern British and American English, corpus-based comparisons focus on several extralinguistic and linguistic factors that have influenced the choice of forms over successive periods of time. Contrary to customary theories of "colonial lag," the rate of change was faster…

Language variation within one "ethnic" group, Israelis of Middle Eastern origins, is examined. Focus is on evidence of systematic patterns in the use of three pronunciations for (r), demonstrating that subconscious sociolinguistic pressures on members of the minority community influence them to assimilate while still retaining…

Examines two methods of differentially classifying language-delayed children as either specifically language impaired (SLI) or developmental-lag language impaired. Results indicated significant differences in classification between the two methods of defining SLI, as well as substantial changes in classification over time using either method. (47…

Critiques the idea that standard British or American English is the only model for second language instruction, arguing that successful English language teaching in nonnative contexts, such as in India, must address the relationship between the forms that English manifests and its speakers' perception of reality and the nature of their cultural…

Examination of the simultaneous communication for two secondary and two elementary school teachers showed high exact and essential equivalence between signed and spoken portions of utterances (92 percent). Although over 90 percent of the utterances contained at least one morpheme mismatch between English and signed main verbs, subjects,…

An analysis of the responses of 83 English language instructors and 251 college students to a survey regarding their attitudes toward Malaysian English, a still-evolving derivative of Standard British English, showed that younger persons had much more tolerance for Malaysian English, which could be accepted as a legitimate…

Analysis of the phonological influence of English on Yoruba found such influences as violation of phonotactic constraints, assimilation of English sounds with those of Yoruba sounds, irregular phoneme correspondences, and resistance to new syllable types. (19 references) (Author/CB)

This article examines differences between language deficits and language differences, with emphasis on African American students from lower socioeconomic levels, and considers intervention with this population in terms of why it should occur, when it should occur, and how it should be structured. An appendix summarizes dialectical features of…

Examines the variable distribution of word-final consonant devoicing (WFCD) among working-class speakers in the Roubaix district of northern France. WFCD is shown to affect coronals, labials, and velars in that order and to be favored by prepausal position. WFCD is primarily associated with female speakers over age 45. (40 references) (MDM)

Investigated the potential correlation of agreement marking with the expression of pronominal subjects in the speech of 10 Spanish speakers from Puerto Rico and 10 from Spain. The results show not only similar patterns of pronominal expression but also similar rankings of constraints on pronominal expression in both dialects. (MDM)

A brief description of factors affecting the generally neglected study of reversing language shift (RLS) is presented. and An eight-step model for building and planning such research, taking into consideration such influences as community and neighborhood, family, and school, is described. (CB)

Explored differences in the spoken English of Texas women, listening to individual women rather than to populations or samples. The study attempted to determine how each woman used available linguistic resources, and it pointed out that every speaker is idiosyncratic and a variety of factors bear on how people talk. (SM)

The lexical variables of word frequency and neighborhood density were hypothesized to facilitate sound change to varying degrees. Twelve children with functional phonological delays participated in an alternating-treatments experiment to promote sound change. Results indicated word frequency was most facilitative in sound change, whereas dense…

Focuses on the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence by second language learners during a period of study abroad. Various aspects of sociolinguistic competence are discussed and some of the principal factors that affect it are described. (Author/VWL)