The choice of languages in daily communication among members of East Javanese society is discussed, as illustrated in language choice in performances of "ludruk," the East Javanese folk play. Data are drawn from audiocassette ludruk recordings, which are seen as depicting contemporary East Javanese society. First, the ethnic makeup of…

Papers in this issue include the following: "Code-Mixing in Hongkong Cantonese-English Bilinguals: Constraints and Processes" (Brian Chan Hok-shing); "Information on Quantifiers and Argument Structure in English Learner's Dictionaries" (Thomas Hun-tak Lee); "Systematic Variability: In Search of a Linguistic…

These six issues of a bimonthly newsletter for foreign-born parents of children in United States schools, contain articles on the following topics: the organization's activities; helping children become both bilingual and biliterate; the experience of bilingual parents; fostering links between home and school; the language of discipline; bilingual…

This article shows that bilingualism can be an enriching part of children's lives. A young child named Anna, living in a bilingual environment in which English and Finnish were spoken, was observed and her speech recorded. This discussion focuses on aspects of Anna's acquisition of language. Initial discussion works toward a definition of…

This paper attempts to integrate the results of the ethnographic and attitudinal components of a broader study into a specifically sociolinguistic analysis. While a variety of opinions can be found in the literature on code-switching, the contention here is that code-switching is a norm in specific speech situations that exist in stable bilingual…

A case study is presented of the development of communication between two adults, one a native speaker of English and the other of Mandarin, over a 5-year period in Taiwan and the United States. Based on diary records, tapes, and letters, it was found that social changes in the couple's lives marked changes in their pattern of communication. Ten…

Data delimited by the phonology-to-semantics framework of mainstream linguistics are inadequate to account for the subtle influences of first language (L1) upon second language (L2). Unique errors for which there is no L1 correlate are found in samples of written English produced by Japanese and Chinese second language learners. This is due to a…

A study was conducted of the language development of a hearing child whose mother was deaf and communicated only in sign and whose father was hearing and communicated in both sign and oral language. Results showed similarities in development between the two modalities as well as similarity between development in two separate modalities and two…

This article reviews certain generatively-based ideas on transactional behavior current in anthropology and discusses their relevance for sociolinguistics. The author finds that whereas sociolinguists tend to ignore such factors as social change and social mobility, anthropologists such as F. Barth ("Models of Social Behavior," 1966) express the…

This article concludes that language mixes do not constitute a major interference in the acquisition of bilingualism since children appear to be able to differentiate their two linguistic systems from an early age. (Author/NCR)

Defines language transfer as a psycholinguistic procedure by which second language learners activate prior knowledge in developing or using their interlanguage. A functional differentiation of language transfer is proposed, according to its activation in learning, reception, and production. (Author/LMO)

This study investigated the writing processes of first grade bilinguals from majority- and minority-language backgrounds who were in a two-way bilingual education (TWBE) program. The program integrated native English and native Spanish speakers for all or most of the day, promoting high academic achievement, dual language and literacy development,…

A study of foreign students' English acquisition used short-term memory tasks to determine if phonological encoding of visually presented verbal material occurred during reading. Students not using oral repetition in English showed greater phonological interference and longer reaction times. Correlation with reading proficiency was small.…

Significant because of deliberate attempts to manipulate the use of two languages in the instructional process, the role of language in the bilingual classroom has been studied from four main points of veiw, each of which is examined in terms of implications for bilingual education. (SB)

Discusses the controversy over the use of Ebonics in the Oakland (California) schools and presents two schools of thought about the origin of Ebonics, the pidgin/Creole and the African retention theories. Three research studies are described that support the use of Ebonics in the classroom as a bridge to standard English. (SLD)