Intended as a survey of the use of "weasel words" (a term coined by Theodore Roosevelt to mean an equivocal word intended to deprive a statement of its force), this book discusses these words both as a part of the historical process of language change and as a misleading and confusing element in current media. Humorous in tone, the book presents…

An analysis of Aleut personal names is presented, derived from census data obtained during a 1790-1792 scientific expedition to the Aleutian Islands. The census contained about 1,500 different Aleut male names from 66 villages, listed alphabetically and interpreted here. Some identifiable female names are also included. The work also provides…

This volume is a selection of papers prepared for a conference on sociolinguistically oriented language surveys organized by the Center for Applied Linguistics and held in New York in September 1971. The purpose of the conference was to review the role and function of such language surveys in the light of surveys conducted in recent years. The…

This is a comparative analysis of the Japanese and American languages and cultures. The following are discussed: verbs, kinship terms, category terms, apologies and thanks, honorifics and postpositional particles, and levels of usage. A final section relates conclusions about linguistic patterns to culture patterns. (AM)

The contents of this book are organized in three main sections: Part 1, "Beginnings," includes three papers: "Some sociological determinants of perception,""A public language: some sociological implications of a linguistic form," and "Language and social class." Part 2, "Developments," includes four papers: "A review of 'The Lore and Language of…

This introduction to sociolinguistics is presented in four parts. The first part gives an overview of this branch of language study, its scope and principles of inquiry, and its basic and key concepts. This portion is written for individuals with no prior knowledge or expertise in the subject. Topics covered in this section include: the nature of…

This book contains essays which focus on the systems of communication that operate within and between various social segments of Afro-American communities in the United States. The essays are presented under the following headings: (1) "Getting Into It: Black Talk, Black Life and the Academic," (2) "'Talking My Talk': Black Talk Varieties and…

The collection of 21 narratives of the Tatl'ahwt'aenn (Upper Ahtna, or Headwaters People) of Alaska focuses on stories about historical events and traditional territory. The stories are told by six elders in Upper Ahtna, one of four dialects of Ahtna, an Athabaskan language. An introductory section offers background information on the population,…

This introduction to sociolinguistics surveys the various ways that language can be studied as a social phenomenon, examining known relationships between language variation and large-scale social factors and showing how this variation runs along "fault lines in social structure," such as divisions between social classes, the sexes, and different…

This study investigated the hypothesis that in language contact situations, bilinguals develop strategies aimed at lightening the cognitive load of having to remember and use two different linguistic systems, resulting in changes in the secondary language. The study examined four specific strategies (simplification of grammatical categories and…

The collection of native tales from King Island, Alaska, contains tales told originally in Inupiaq Eskimo by seven native elders. Introductory sections provide background information on the storytellers, King Island Village and its people, traditional life there, and the language of the King Islanders. The 25 tales are divided into groups:…

This collection of writings was compiled over a 19-year period (1972-91) by the last writer and one of the last storytellers of the Kenai dialect of Dena'ina (Tanaina) language of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Peter Kalifornsky is a literary artist and scholar born in 1911. The 147 writings are organized in eight chapters, with a prelude containing two…

An ongoing longitudinal study, 15 years old at the time of publication, is reported. It is a sociolinguistic, developmental study of the acquisition of two languages, Spanish and English, by a boy from birth, with data drawn from direct observation and occasional tape recordings of speech. An introductory chapter outlines the objectives and method…

Essays on literacy patterns and practices in South Africa include: "Literacy, Voter Education and Constructions of Citizenship in the Western Cape During the First Democratic National Elections in South Africa" (Mastin Prinsloo, Steven Robins); "Literacy, Knowledge, Gender, and Power in the Workplace on Three Farms in the Western…

This workbook in Spanish accompanies the reader that is part of an ungraded language arts and reading program that can be used in classes from upper elementary through high school. The program is designed around reading selections which present aspects of history, culture, and present-day experiences of special relevance to the Mexican-American…