The authors reviewed the literature regarding linguistic variations seen in American Sign Language. These variations are influenced by region and culture. Features of spoken languages have also influenced sign languages as they intersected, e.g., Black ASL has been influenced by African American English. A literature review was conducted to…

Based on experimental research, examines the relationship between American Sign Language and French Sign Language, and sociolinguistic variation in both sign languages. (AM)

The rhyming practices of Sima Xiangru and Wang Bao, early and mid-western Han poets of the Shu area, reveal details about the finals of their languages. Comparisons are made of similarities and differences of their dialects to that of a later compatriot, Yang Xiong. (Author/CB)

Investigates the role of dialect variation in the acquisition of American English by adult second language learners. The study revealed that dialect differences present problems for learners and cause variable intelligibility and negative learner attitude toward some varieties of English and its speakers. This attitude could negatively affect a…

The relationship between language and education is considered, focusing on the central role of language in learning, and two kinds of research concerned with language and educational issues are discussed. Linguistic research focuses on the language aspects and treats the educational aspect as the contextual surrounding of the problem. Educational…

A comparative analysis of four studies that emphasized linguistic similarities (rather than differences) between nonstandard speakers and other groups focused on developmental characteristics of the semantic categories encoded by nonstandard speakers compared with other speakers. Implications for language assessment are discussed. (JW)

The behavior of verbal "-s" is examined in two data sets on early Black English as represented by: (1) tape-recorded interviews with native English-speaking residents of a region of the Dominican Republic; and (2) the ex-slave recordings housed in the Library of Congress. Each verbal construction with the potential for variable…

Discusses and compares the syntactic features of free relative clauses found in Castilian and Aragonese dialects of Old Spanish. The role of clitics (nontonic pronominals) and the lexical innovations of the wh-question compound-type clauses are highlighted. (TR)

A dialect survey of the Penghu Islands concluded that the Penghu dialects belong to the Southern Min; variation within the dialects is considerable in terms of changed tones, certain finals, and some lexical items; and the Penghu dialects can be further divided into two large groups. (Author/CB)

An etymological comparison of Taiwanese words and their Mandarin equivalents revealed that 30 percent of words found in sampled running texts have different etymons, with a high percentage of same etymons between Taiwanese and Mandarin content words and a lower rate of same etymons between Taiwanese and Mandarin function words. (Author/CB)

Detailed analysis of frequencies of the primary auxiliary verb "be" in Scots dramatic texts leads to consideration of the typological relationship said to exist between different varieties of Scots and between them and standard English. (Author/CB)

Four papers address trends and issues in Hispanic linguistics. "Recent Trends in Hispanic Linguistics" (Frank Nuessel) gives an overview of benchmarks in research on diachronic, sociolinguistic, and applied aspects of Spanish phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. "African Influence on Hispanic Dialects" (John Lipski)…

Repudiates the theory that black dialect has African origins. Supports the British Isles influence theory. (FL)

Examines debates involving three speech communities in the United States: standard English, Black English, and Spanish. The analysis focuses on languages in which electoral activities take place and in which public school instruction is conducted. The major American ideologies of language are similar in their denial of linguistic inequality.…

An examination of the place of American English in the research of William Dwight Whitney and Leonard Bloomfield focuses on the divergence of their approaches to language. A review of their works looks at the way in which Whitney's interest in American English complemented his other strong interests (the social and political setting for language…