Language has the power to structure and change thought and behavior, where there exists a belief in this positive power of language. Magic is curative because the language of magic has a powerful suggestive effect on the human mind familiar with the context in which this language is used. In psychotherapy, the special terminology is a vital part…

The United States Department of Labor has revised the "Dictionary of Occupational Titles" in order to eliminate references to gender. Can language respond to official edicts, as well as to demands from feminists, and effect significant changes? This paper supports the position that language can and will change. The basis for such change depends on…

Examines the role of language in the teaching of technical report writing for first-year Engineering students at Temasek Polytechnic (Singapore). Describes, predicts, and critiques the communicative behaviors of students coming into contact with report writing. Findings indicate that good report writing can be learned through an integrative…

Observation of child language development is just one way to study how language changes over time. Developmental psycholinguistics shares much common ground with historical linguistics and with studies of languages in contact and the evolution of pidgins and creoles. By studying the way language changes, this paper focuses on clarifying the…

The keynote addresses and study group reports of the International Federation for the Teaching of English (IFTE) seminar are presented in this book. It begins with an introduction by Stephen N. Tchudi which explores the issues and concerns that cut across several or all of the reports and speeches. Part 1, "International Perspectives on Language,…