This book attempts to provide a broad and not too highly technical coverage of linguistic theory, both historically and in its current status. Although no particular viewpoint is espoused, a penchant for transformation generative grammar is apparent. The text discusses language as a means of communication, the physiology of articulation,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between age, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, and sex, and the development of an awareness of the social and racial significance of language dialects. Eighty children from first and fifth grades served as subjects. The subjects were presented with four tasks: (1) a discrimination task of…

This research attempted to identify relationships that exist between linguistic factors and some nonlinguistic variables. Twenty principals provided 60 taped conversations with teachers and responded to questionnaires designed to elicit selected demographic data and measures of interpersonal needs along the dimensions of the Schutz FIRO-B…

This course involves an approach to language study dealing with the psychology, the process of abstraction, and the levels of the meaning of language. The objectives of the course include demonstrating an understanding of: (1) the origin and nature of language, (2) the process by which language changes and develops, (3) the abstract nature of the…

This investigation sought to learn about the oral and written language behavior of students from kindergarten age through grade 7, and to determine the validity of different analytic techniques for measuring children's development in control of syntax. Language samples were collected from 180 children (grades K-3, 5, and 7) by having the children…

The findings of 3 studies on the patterns of use of Spanish among Mexican American boys and girls and the relationship between an index of use of Spanish and level of aspiration were compared in this paper. The studies were conducted in South Texas during the spring of 1967, in El Paso during the spring of 1973, and in Southern Colorado during the…

The work itself should help a person who is going to teach reading and writing. Practical suggestions are offered in the final two chapters, while the opening three give intellectual perspectives. A theme binds the work of letting the consciousness of writing as a visual system be increased and of breaking the spell by which letter phonetics can…

This paper compares respect forms used in Bhojpuri, standard Hindi, and suddh Hindi. The role and use of each dialect are described, and a comparison of respect forms used in each is presented, considering phonemic, grammatical, syntactical, suprasegmental, paralinguistic, and kinesic features. The differences noted appear in a continuum among the…

In India, the use of language dialect and style, like many aspects of Indian thought and life, follows a continuum from the ritually pure and worthy of respect to the ritually defiled and unworthy. In North India, according to adult informants, Hindi is spoken at school, in formal business contacts or government offices, in formal ceremonies; it…

The properties of one of the structures of politeness in the romance languages, the deference system connected with the use of conditional tenses, are analyzed in this paper. Although only Spanish examples are given, the conclusions also apply to French, Italian and Roumanian. The first part of the paper analyzes politeness in relation to its…

This study is concerned with the acquisition of social awareness of language differences in preschool children, particularly their awareness of the differences between black and standard English (BE and SE). Awareness is defined as a type of sociolinguistic perception involving three related abilities: (1) discrimination (the ability to…

This paper discusses characteristics common to all Middle Eastern students with the exception of Israelis, and addresses itself to those working with Middle Eastern students on American college and university campuses. Middle Eastern students will show themselves to be highly adaptable, but they may demonstrate a formality of manner, particularly…

This article, which focuses on speech differences of age groups, is part of a larger study of occupational jargon, its characteristics and underlying features and the part it plays in reflecting the workers' knowledge of their jobs and their attitudes toward jobs in general. The project incorporated a case method of research in a china factory.…

Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)

Describe a study which analyzed sexism in recent children's science books and made comparisons to books published in the 1960s and 1970s. Factors considered included: male-oriented illustrations, overuse of masculine pronouns, references to animals, exclusive language, careers for males, and the male figure as imagery. (EM)