Spontaneous utterances from 3 conversational contexts were generated by 3 groups of 10 children, including children with specific language impairments (SLI), and analyzed for accuracy of pronoun usage. Results indicated that children with SLI exhibited more total errors than chronological peers but not more than their language level peers. A…

Discusses the eight-month examination of interactive student-teacher journal entries of first-, third-, and fifth-grade Spanish-English bilingual classrooms. Concludes that students did not make a "transition" from native to second language, instead used a bilingual approach, shifting language in journal entries. Suggests mandatory…

Four experiments examined three- and four-year olds' interpretations of novel words applied to familiar objects in the sentence frame "This Y is X," where X is a novel word and Y is a familiar count noun. Results indicated that preschoolers understood that the novel words were either proper names or adjectives/mass nouns. (MDM)

This study used interviews and participant-observation to examine the concept of "brown-nosing" (using compliments and other positive statements to curry favor) in organizational settings in the United States. It identifies various types of brown-nosing, as well as the motives and consequences of such behavior. (30 references) (MDM)

This article suggests that the notion of "conceptual fluency," which has been derived from the current research on the role of metaphor in language and cognition, can be used to draft a teaching curriculum around the notion that metaphor is the organizing principle of common discourse. (51 references) (MDM)

Makes a case for using transliteration in order to avoid wholesale translation of new words from the natural sciences and technology into Indian languages. Proposes introduction of the Roman alphabet (in a modified form), so that the Indian languages can accommodate new loans within their own phonetic systems without any substantial changes. (SR)

Applies techniques of conversational analysis and sociolinguistics to provide an ethnographic account of a mediation in Thailand. (48 references) (LB)

First results of a survey of English use in 202 Italo-Australian subjects in 46 situations show a widespread shift to English, beginning with younger (first generation) subjects and increasing dramatically among members of the second generation. Italo-Australians' English usage depends more on personal characteristics of speakers than on topic or…

Mental terms in mothers' and their childrens' speech at two and three years were studied to examine relationships between maternal and child use. Nineteen mother and child dyads were videotaped for 1 hour on each of 2 days when children were 2;0 and again for 2 1-hour sessions on separate days when they were 3;0. Mental terms were noted. (JL)

This study examined age differences in the extent to which children infer and use a speaker's interpersonal goal to understand speech acts and to examine age differences in the extent to which children select responses that carry implications appropriate to the speaker's interpersonal goal. (15 references) (JL)

Scholars and teachers are increasingly realizing that language consists of more than the additive nature of learned morphological, syntactical, and lexical items. This paper describes the pragmatic implications of linguistic strings, based on research and interviews with native speakers of American English and standard German. (20 references)…

Because further promotion of the Maori language is needed to prevent it from remaining an endangered language, a national survey was conducted of 225 New Zealand adults' opinions about the language and fostering its instruction. Two-thirds of the respondents supported its place in New Zealand society, but 25 percent supported greater use. (23…

Analyzes the relationships between complimenting strategies associated with male and female language use and evaluations of the effectiveness of written discourse. Finds that use of certain complimenting strategies associated with male and female language use correlate with lower ratings of ideational effectiveness. Illustrates ways that gender is…

Examination of a range of cross-linguistic generalizations leads to the view that grammar is primarily shaped by the entire range of cognitive, social, and interactional factors involved in language use. Specific grammatical phenomena are discussed that support the view that grammatical regularities arise because of certain strategies people use…

In clauses with future meaning in Biblical Hebrew, there are consistent functional differences between clauses with verb-initial word order and clauses with non-verb-initial word order. Verb-initial clauses are associated with future events involving cooperation between the speaker, listener, and God. (16 references) (Author/LB)