Data from videotaped conversations in a number of East African languages and in English are used to establish the existence of a preference in the African interactional systems for the use of verbal feedback by listeners in contrast to a preference for the use of non-verbal (gaze, head nod) feedback in English. This difference is related to…

A total of 109 Korean immigrants completed either an English or Korean version of a nine-page questionnaire in a study of the characteristics, assimilation processes, and media usage of Korean immigrants to the Los Angeles, California area. The findings revealed that ambivalent attitudes prevailed among the immigrants. Most were not satisfied with…

This volume contains twelve articles dealing with the French language as spoken in Quebec. The following topics are addressed: (1) language change and variation; (2) coordinating expressions in the French spoken in Montreal; (3) expressive language as source of language change; (4) the role of correction in conversation; (5) social change and…

Sexist language provides a useful diagnostic symptom of how pervasively women's invisibility and degradation are manifested in modern society. In analyzing instances of sexist language usage, three types of factors may be considered: (1) linguistic facts related to the sexist usage; (2) cognitive factors--attitudes, values, perceptions--behind the…

There has been relatively little research into the ways in which language may be manipulated to increase social distance in interethnic and interracial encounters. The first part of this paper discusses three types of communicative distance, which reflect three different intensities of ethnocentrism: "low,""moderate," and…

The frequency with which a child's parents use a given linguistic form has been considered influential in language development. This hypothesis has been challenged, however, notably by Ervin (1964) and Brown (1973). The frequency hypothesis makes the assumptions that: (1) children are not selective in what they attend to, (2) they listen to most…

Two studies on the phonology of Spanish spoken by Cubans in the United States are critically analyzed. The studies are: "Markedness and a Cuban Dialect of Spanish," by Jorge M. Guitart, and "Some Theoretical Implications from Rapid Speech Phenomena in Miami-Cuban Spanish," by Robert M. Hammond. The methodologies of Hammond and Guitart are…

The theory and research resulting from the Writing Research Unit of the Schools Council Project in England has received widespread attention. In response to that attention, and with the opinion that the ideas "Writing across the Curriculum" and "Language across the Curriculum" developed in the Project are fuzzy slogans not…

A careful examination of the location of variation in the grammar is advocated as opposed to attempts to cover linguistic generalizations with a single rule. Such an examination may lead to non-deterministic solutions, since there may be two distinct possible derivations for a single surface structure. For instance, in Portuguese, the variation…

The influence of maternal language use patterns on the use patterns of the child was investigated in a black, low-income mother-child pair over a 20-month period, beginning at the child's 11th month of age. Video recordings were made of the pair's interaction in an unstructured playroom setting approximately every four weeks. Child multi-word…

THIS GUIDE WAS PREPARED FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER WHO HAS HAD LITTLE OR NO TRAINING IN LINGUISTICS. OPPORTUNITIES FOR CALLING ATTENTION TO THE LINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE OCCUR FREQUENTLY IN THE CLASSROOM, AND THIS GUIDE PROVIDES SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING USE OF THEM. FOUR INITIAL CHAPTERS DISCUSS THE USAGE OF LINGUISTICS, PROVIDE A…

ORIENTALISTS HAVE OBSERVED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL "STANDARD" LANGUAGES OF CHINA AND JAPAN AS A GRADUAL REPLACEMENT OF THE OLD "WRITTEN-LITERARY" LANGUAGE BY THE "COLLOQUIAL" SPOKEN LANGUAGE. THE AUTHOR DEFINES "WRITTEN-LITERARY" LANGUAGE, CORRESPONDING TO "WEN-YEN" IN CHINESE AND…

APPROPRIATE ENGLISH USAGE SHOULD NOT BE DETERMINED BY RIGID AND ARTIFICAL REGULATIONS SET UP BY SCHOLARS MORE INTERESTED IN DEMONSTRATING THEIR OWN SUPERIORITY THAN IN DESCRIBING THE WAY LANGUAGE IS ACTUALLY USED. INSTEAD, GOOD ENGLISH SHOULD REVEAL ITSELF AS "THE PRODUCT OF CUSTOM" AND SHOULD CHANGE WITH "THE ORGANIC LIFE OF THE LANGUAGE." THUS,…

These guidelines have been designed to guide English teachers in taking steps to eliminate sexism from the English classroom. Separate sections define sexism, examine ways that language works to perpetuate sexism, show how literature works to perpetuate sexism, and list frequently used terms that are sexist in nature or use, along with nonsexist…

This study examines the use of the auxiliaries "avoir" and "etre" and of the prefix "re-" in the speech of Franco-Ontarian students. It is found that the tendency to use non-standard constructions such as "j'ai arrive en retard" and "je vais remettre la roue 'back'" has its origins in historical…