The first stage of combinatorial speech is better described as variable than uniform. Talk of variants obscures two different aspects of language (knowledge and use) and two different aspects of language development -- acquisition of the grammar (competence) and deployment of the grammar in speaking and listening (performance). Null subjects and…

The article by Amaral and Roeper (this issue; henceforth A&R) presents many interesting ideas about first and second language acquisition as well as some experimental data convincingly illustrating the difference between production and comprehension. The article extends the concept of Universal Bilingualism proposed in Roeper (1999) to second…

Poplack, Zentz and Dion (PZD; Poplack, Zentz & Dion, 2011, this issue) examine the often unquestioned assumption that the existence of preposition stranding (PS) in Canadian French is linked to the presence of a contact situation with English in the North American context. Although this issue has been the topic of previous research from a…

Provides a framework of key issues surrounding the non-standard orthographic representation of non-standard language varieties. The following topics are addressed: the selective nature of orthographic choice; relational an contrastive meaning of orthographic conventions; interplay of sameness and difference in use of orthography to make claims on…

Discusses a continuum of language alternation phenomena that spans between the prototypes labeled codeswitching (CS), language mixing (LM), and fused lects (FLs), with CS and FLs representing the polar extremes of the continuum and LM a point in between. (Author/VWL)

The necessity for stylistic appropriateness in translation as well as correct content is discussed. To acquire this skill, translators must be trained in stylistics through close examination of their own language and must have practice in translating for different audiences at different levels. (PMJ)

This study is based on the general finding that the linguistic reality of a bilingual community is complex and that the two languages are not compartmentalized into any particular spheres of social life. It uses this finding to explore a theoretical position that treats facts regarding language functions and usage as if these, in and of…

Two studies on the phonology of Spanish spoken by Cubans in the United States are critically analyzed. The studies are: "Markedness and a Cuban Dialect of Spanish," by Jorge M. Guitart, and "Some Theoretical Implications from Rapid Speech Phenomena in Miami-Cuban Spanish," by Robert M. Hammond. The methodologies of Hammond and Guitart are…

Recently, a number of quantitative studies have explored systematic relationships between sociocultural organization and patterns of language use, based on the assumption that speech behavior reflects the basic categories of the community's social structure. Such systematic links were arrived at by correlating average group scores for…

Two major theories trace the origins of black English to African influence or British Isles influence. According to the African origin theory, black English was created through pidginization, creolization, and decreolization as Africans came into contact with Europeans through the slave trade. The second theory holds that most black English…

Examines the constraints on the realization of "/t/" in New Zealander English. On the basis of an examination of the speech of two similar speakers from that country, a series of allophonic rules is provided. The article shows that the distribution of allophones for these speakers is not the same as for other speakers who have been…

To assist language researchers in their analysis of interlanguage, some values for the linguistic variables of Source Language (SL), Interlanguage (IL), and Target Language (TL) are set forth. Although the fundamental assumption underlying interlanguage research is that interlanguages are linguistic systems, it is difficult to describe the…

Suggests that while language variation is widespread and natural, it is subject to judgment and that where a standard has developed other varieties are judged against the standard. Investigates how teachers judge the speech of school-aged students and what influences that judgment. Results show teachers' perceptions of speech were most strongly…

This paper draws from a number of sources, from Muhammad Ali to TV commercials, to demonstrate the quite different conceptions that black and white Americans have of the meaning of boasting and bragging. For blacks, boasting and bragging are two distinct ways of speaking and communication. Boasting is a joking, playful verbal bahavior, not to be…

This issue contains articles ranging from a theoretical discussion of the nature of an international language to an assessment of the implications of teaching a local form of English. The following articles are included: (1) "International English and Language Variation," by M. Lester; (2) "The English Language, Ideology, and…