This volume is a summary of current knowledge concerning the relationship between social behavior and language behavior. It is intended both for graduate and advanced undergraduate students and for interested laypersons who have no extensive knowledge of either sociology or linguistics. The introduction and ten chapters cover the following topics:…

A variable rule of /s/ deletion that operates in many varieties of Spanish is examined. A descriptive apparatus is posited that may be helpful in systematizing quantitative data from studies of phonological variability. Empirical data from the speech of informants show that ordering relationships among constraints on variable phonological rules…

Puppetry has potential for illuminating many aspects of human life. One of these aspects, the system of language and speech, is explored here. An examination of the widespread use of a voice-modifying instrument to provide the puppets' voices demonstrates that traditional puppeteers act both as folk linguists and as folk sociolinguists. The study…

Different languages code messages in different ways and use different channels for sending messages; thus there are many places for misinterpreting and mishearing messages in an intercultural context. To move from one language to another requires a description of the total language communication system, one that has its universals in social and…

Intended for adult literacy tutors in Britain who teach West Indian students, this booklet provides information about the history of Caribbean Creole English and about the ways in which it differs from Standard English. The five chapters contain discussions of the Caribbean setting; the differences between Pidgin and Creole English; Caribbean…

Answers to three of the questions used in gathering material for the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) are analyzed in this paper. The data was collected state by state, and the number studied in each state was based on the 1960 population figures and known patterns of settlements and migrations. In the first question, the informants…

This article discusses language planning in the People's Republic of China, and opens by commenting on the difficulty in observing the language planning process in China, particularly in the area of decision-making. A brief history of language planning is provided. Following the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, a shift took place…

Recent research in sociolinguistics has demonstrated the need for looking at language in a dynamic framework, that is, for not imposing the traditional synchronic-diachronic dichotomy on linguistic studies. Support for the dynamic framework has been given from various oral languages. This paper attempts to test variation theory with historically…

This bibliography is divided into three main sections. The first section lists bibliographies relevant to bilingualism and multilingualism. The second section cites books and anthologies dealing with bilingualism and multilingualism, while the third section gives references for books dealing with bilingual education. Entries include both American…

This guide was designed to provide both the occasional and the professional bilingual Spanish-English translator with some working definitions based on modern linguistics and to call his or her attention to certain difficulties in translating. Sections on the following are included: (1) context sensitivity, (2) frequency matching, (3) style…

The variety of syntactic forms for expression of directives is commented on. Data has been collected investigating the empirical distribution of formal variants across social features and predictability of the form of a directive if social features of its context are known. (Author/RM)

Stresses the need for a sociolinguistic approach to the instruction of Chinese as a second language that would take into account recent changes in the Chinese language. A specific method used in the preparation of teaching materials is outlined. (CLK)

This article characterizes the extent and nature of the vocabulary changes in the People's Republic of China by identifying general areas of change and by observing particular features of the changes. (CLK)

Asserts that, if the aim of foreign language teaching is to be communicative competence, then some of the sociocultural determinants of usage of some forms should not be overlooked. The Spanish pronominal address forms, "tu" and "Ud.," are discussed as an example. (EJS)

Examines different hypotheses on the origin of the Creoles of the Indian Ocean, and common lexical and phonological bonds among them. (AM)