Proposes a method for describing the relationship between writing error and style shifting rates across communicative situations. Finds that errors diminished in proportion to the tendency of students to select grammatical features that are shared by Black American English and Standard American English in formal communicative situations. (RAE)

A study of linguistic judgment tasks and lexical decision tasks among English-German bilinguals supports the hypotheses that bilinguals have knowledge of two sets of phonotactic constraints, and that both sets of constraints are simultaneously available to the individual during language processing. (MSE)

Tests the hypothesis that mothers would label objects with adult-basic level terms when talking to other adults, but would label the same objects with child-basic terms when speaking to their young children who were just starting to talk, even though these labels may be very much "incorrect" by adult standards. (Author/RH)

Spanish/English bilingual 5 to 11-year-old children were interviewed in both languages to assess the reliability of their language background self-ratings. (CM)

Describes some aspects of "interlingual contagion" between siSwati and English in Swaziland, focusing on borrowing and code switching and the derived "Englishization of siSwati and Swazification of English. These phenomena are examined via a mode of bilingualism that presumes that all languages carry indexical meanings both on…

Explores an Optimality-Theoretic approach to account for observed cross-linguistic patterns of code switching that assumes that code switching strives for well-formedness. Optimization of well-formedness in code switching is shown to follow from (violable) ranked constraints. An argument is advanced that code-switching patterns emerge from…

This study on code-mixing focuses on the influence of Spanish in Nahuatl discourse as revealed in narratives produced by adults and children. Results indicate differences in frequency of content word embedded language (Spanish), lexical items across grade level (for children), grade level attained (for adults), and correlations (for children)…

Explores children's views and perspectives on their use of first and second languages at home and at school. Suggests that language use is dependent on purpose. Notes that bilingual children's use of their first and second language depends on which language best serves a particular function. (SG)

Explores the relationship between Spanish language use and ethnic identity through analysis of discourse among a Chicano family whose members had differing proficiencies in Spanish and/or English. Such factors as interaction in Anglo-dominated settings, conversational techniques, linguistic competence, and language attitudes appeared to influence…

Provides a critical review of the syntactic study of code mixing, discussing data drawn from African and South Asian languages, and focuses particular attention on the syntactic constraints paradigm. An examination of seven major surface constraints, deemed to have universal applicability, shows that none of these constraints is universal. (53…

Demonstrates code mixing as a cross-cultural phenomenon and mark of modernization. Three points are considered: the functional uses of code mixing, attitudes toward code mixing, and language change as a result of code mixing. (27 references) (Author/OD)

Examines switches produced in spontaneous speech over a period of 15 months by 2 trilingual children acquiring Hebrew, Spanish, and English. The switches were analyzed both grammatically and according to specific sociolinguistic features. (seven references) (VWL)

This study demonstrates that communication in multilingual settings demands more than the knowledge of several languages. The paper further elucidates multilingualism and multiculturalism, interactional competence, models of multilingual communicative behavior, and sources of misunderstanding in intercultural communication and presents cultureme…

The motives for the integration of French elements into Lubumbashi Swahili are investigated. Based on an analysis of three different texts, it is argued that the mixing process is carefully regulated and controlled to serve several communicative functions. (18 references) (Author/LB)

Code-switching (CS) patterns of bilingual English-Mandarin speakers underwent structural and functional analysis to reveal the interrelationship between form and function in bilingual CS discourse. Results indicate that certain syntactic forms are utilized to express certain functions in CS discourse and that interlocutor participation helps…