Develops analytical techniques to determine "borrowability," the ease with which a lexical item or category of lexical items can be borrowed by one language from another. These techniques are then applied to Spanish borrowings in Bolivian Quechua on the basis of a set of bilingual texts. (29 references) (MDM)

Surveyed 99 Anglo-Argentine students aged 10 through 18 at five Spanish-English bilingual schools in Buenos Aires about their language attitudes and usage. It found that, despite the prestige of the English language, Spanish had become the dominant language for most. Age and place of residency in Buenos Aires also had a significant effect on…

Reviews a book that emphasizes the role of families in maintaining minority languages and, ultimately, cultures. The book sees efforts to preserve and restore minority languages as societal reform efforts that lead to appreciation of other cultures as well. Three sections cover introductory considerations, case studies of threatened languages, and…

A qualitative study is described investigating the university graduate student seminar presentation as a speech event and its status as a genre. Findings support Swales' (1990) contention that the graduate seminar is an independent genre related to the experimental research article, not merely an oral replication. (20 references) (Author/LB)

Applies a functional perspective to examine aspects of lexical style in English-language Indian newspapers and to explore the dynamics of Indian nativization of English. Findings reveal that the sociocultural constraints of the native situation significantly affect lexicology, with variations influenced more by situations than by language…

Various aspects of obituaries (e.g., size, position in paper, use of photographs, multiple appearances) are examined to show how they communicate information about the socioeconomic status of both the deceased and the survivors. The Nigerian announcements are compared with similar notices in English, German, and Indian newspapers. Aspects of…

Strategies used to show participants' agreement or disagreement are examined, based on a phone-in radio program in which a male psychologist offers diagnosis and advice to a female caller during a 10-minute conversation. Linguistic devices including repetition, back-channel responses, and hesitation are noted in the context of an asymmetrical…

This study investigated the relationship among input, interaction, and second-language production among 16 native-nonnative dyads. The results indicated that both modified input and interaction initiated by the native speaker lead to greater comprehension by the nonnative speaker, as measured by task performance. (Contains 48 references.) (MDM)

This article describes the collected written and visual works of one Dakota Indian first grader, compiled over the course of the academic year. Through a descriptive study of her works, the student's teachers were able to understand her particular meaning-making efforts. (Contains 25 references.) (MDM)

A survey of 100 University of Transkei (South Africa) faculty investigated extent of agreement or disagreement with the slogan "publish or perish." Results suggest that, overall, faculty were neither for nor against the slogan itself, although response varied by discipline. However, the implications of the expression are seen as…

Examined the development of principles of control in the grammar of 15 preschool children over a 9-month period, focusing on pronominal reference. The results confirm a developmental sequence that is driven by lexical learning and changing structural analyses. (38 references) (MDM)

Presents initial findings in a study of language use by preadolescent African-American male participants in a neighborhood sponsored Youth Basketball Association. Using data collected over a 30-month period in Chicago (Illinois), the study takes an ethnographic approach for exploring communicative competencies in oral and written language. (JB)

This article presents a rationale and ways to use communication games in written form to entice deaf children to try new forms of language. It emphasizes the importance of using communicative teaching methods and considering students' communicative adequacy rather than form. Games include picture/object matching games and bingo/lotto games. (JDD)

The development of forms and functions of negation in parent-child interactions in the early stages of language acquisition is discussed with illustrative examples from field data relating to two Tamil-speaking children and their parents. An attempt is made to provide a scheme for analyzing the negatives in children's speech. (18 references) (JL)

The consequences of economic integration for Europe's lesser-used languages are examined. Applying theoretical predictions to a set of 12 minority languages, this paper shows that 5 will likely be in a more favorable position, 4 may lose as a result of economic integration, and no clear effect can be predicted for the remaining 3. (18 references)…