There are different ways of exploring and examining the visual medium in the service and disservice of education. A discursive form rather than a visual medium is chosen in this attempt. Utilizing the conceptualizations of Suzanne Langer, Christine Nystrom observed that American symbolic environments have undergone a massive shift from discursive…

Examines the concept of indigenized Englishes and compares them with pidgins and creoles, focusing on attitudes about indigenized English, creative aspects of indigenized English, substratum influences, and universals. (Author/CB)

Two different sign languages are in use by deaf persons in Jamaica. The "urban" variation is very similar to varieties of signing used in the United States, while the "rural" or "country" sign language is marked by use of physical portrayals and emphasis on physical characteristics. (CB)

Proposes a reinterpretation of the language bioprogram hypothesis to show how substrate influence and bioprogrammatic factors may all be invoked to account for various complementary aspects of creole genesis. A contextual and weighted interpretation of markedness shows the selective application of substrate influence in creolization and transfer…

Describes the high Italian speech variety commonly used by Italian Americans, based on a study of 39 Italian Americans that included interviews and questionnaires. Dialectal characteristics, convergence with English, and language maintenance and language shift in the Italian-American community are discussed. (CB)

Considers the role of native-speaker English language teachers in Hong Kong. First, the article examines the concept of native speaker and offers five criteria that determine whether a person can be classed as a native speaker or not. Second, it focuses on the use of native-speaker English teachers in Hong Kong, with particular reference to a…

Suggests the use of principal components analysis as an alternative solution to the problem of grouping speakers by sociological characteristics prior to quantitative analysis. An example is presented of its application to vowel variation data collected as part of a sociolinguistic survey of English in Sydney, Australia. (Author/CB)

Supports a greater use of repeated recordings and elicited intuitions by sociolinguists in assessing the linguistic competence of individuals or groups. A replication of an earlier implicational analysis of pronominal variation in the Guyanese creole continuum shows that, with repeated sampling and the inclusion of elicited intuitions, the…

A review of ethnographic research investigated issues associated with regional or dialectal language use, particularly the use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the special education classroom, and noted the implications for research and classroom practice. Research with speech/language pathologists is under way to develop a…