With the cooperation of the Alaska state-operated schools and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), a study of language capabilities of entering primary students was accomplished. Some 175 rural schools were contacted, and replies were received from 96 schools--a 55% response rate, of which 38 (35%) were received from state-operated schools and 58…

"Variety" is defined as a "unique configuration of linguistic features." These features characterize the language of conversation, unscripted commentary, religion, newspaper reporting, and legal documents. Everyone learns many varieties of at least one language. The ambiguity of usage labels like "slang" and "colloquial" indicates that we know…

An attempt is made to develop a method for the presentation of temporal and spatial sociolinguistic data in order to study phenomena of bilingual interaction. Domain of language usage and other sociocultural variables are abstracted from extant sources, normalized and compared with the aim of studying sociolinguistic variation, its reflection on…

Presented in this publication are the findings from a selected group of 52 studies conducted by graduate students at the University of Kansas. Undertaken as research for masters' and doctoral degrees, these studies are limited to problems occupying public school teachers of grades 7-13. Specific areas of the research are grammar and usage (6…

The objectives of this study were to determine the strength and importance of the relationships among features of oral and written language proficiency and their accompanying thought processes, and to dimensionalize variables that may be manipulated to assist development of disadvantaged children. Test scores from measures of language/thinking…

Three examples are given of cases where differences between Spanish and English syntax and intonation patterns are taught best through direct translation. Grammatical difficulties caused by "gustar" are overcome through the use of translation using "appeal" rather than "please". Similarly, problems for native speakers of English arising with…

Linguistics has developed as an isolated discipline, while language has historically been the central subject of education. Linguistics need to begin contributing to the general understanding of language by developing courses for the non-specialist. A course conducted by the author for non-majors is outlined. The title of the course was…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the language usage of the individual in the university community and membership in a biosocial group or ideological group. Subjects for the study were selected classes at the University of Nebraska. The classes were composed of the basic speech, oral interpretation, and…

As an early product of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Committee on Public Doublespeak, this publication seeks both to provide teachers of English and speech already concerned about the social effects of language with current studies on the subject and to persuade other colleagues of the importance of preparing students to cope…

Four pairs of concepts important for the descriptions of the language or form of objective statements are described. The paper addresses itself to a set of questions concerning the relations between the form of educational objectives and the function which those objectives serve. The concept pairs considered are general-specific,…

Designed to measure ability to choose rules of Standard English and Black English as they are appropriate to a situational context, the test consists of twenty items. It is an untimed group test, with reading assistance available if necessary from the examiner. Thirteen of the items present a situational context, requiring the subject to choose…

This investigation studied the relationships of children's reading achievement to their ability to reproduce orally selected phonological, morphological, and syntactical structures presented in "The Gloria and David Beginning English, Series No. 20, Test 6" (GDBE). The subjects were 198 Spanish-surnamed and black third graders. Reading achievement…

In a 1968 address, Franklyn S. Haiman stated that public discourse at that time was marked by irrationality because of emphases on emotional appeals, disorganization, and aggressive or abusive style and language. He also cited "body rhetoric" (lawful protests or marches) and civil disobedience (illegal actions) as examples of irrational arguments.…

Strategies proposed in this study for teaching composition at the secondary level incorporated an expanded concept of semantics. A survey of semantic developments indicated that a composition program stressing the interrelationship of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics in a communication situation was a desideratum. As an initial procedure, the…

This volume presents a compilation and translation of folktales and other forms of oral literature in the Kupia, Kotia Oriya, and Parengi Languages of India. Kupia and Kotia Oriya are Indo-Aryan languages, while Parengi is a Munda language. Language family differences are particularly obvious in the vocabulary and syntax of the different groups of…