Raised, nasalized variants of /ae/ in such words as hat and back in the speech of many Illinoisans are found to correlate with the size of the community in which the speaker was raised. Generally, the higher the variants, the more urban the speaker was raised. (Author/RM)

It is argued that findings and techniques from both sociolinguistics and theoretical geography can aid in improving descriptions of geographical variation in language. Social and spatial characteristics of language change may thereby be better explained. (CK)

Results of a study are discussed which involved first grade black children who produced multiple instances of linguistic variables. The suggestion is made that the standard English "is" and "has" in certain constructions have been reanalyzed as nominal inflections. (RM)

Discusses the factors that led to linguists being able to present effective testimony in the form of an unified view on the origins and structural characteristics of the Black English vernacular at the Ann Arbor trial. (EKN)

Describes the social situations and attitudes of speakers of Dyirbal in addition to changing language identifications, and reports on Dyirbal contract in lexical and grammatical complexity as it has moved toward an inevitable extinction. (11 references) (GLR)

The theory of the lexical bar is introduced, based on research in England and Australia. A semantic barrier exists in the English lexicon, separating the lexes of conservative peripheral dialects from those of dominant central dialects, producing differential educational attainment, and reproducing class-based division of labor. (MSE)

Work supported in part by a Social Science Research Council research fellowship to R. L. Cooper. (VM)

Summarizes the main points presented in the 1989 book, "The Death of Black English" by R.R. Butlers (1989). Butler's book presents most important research of last 20 years and subjects the results to variation analysis. It is concluded that the history of linguistic assimilation points to the eventual disappearance of Black English in…

A study of 51 speakers in rural Illinois showed fronting and raising of (aw) to be considerably more advanced among countryside dwellers than among town residents. Discusses some of the social and economic changes contributing to this phonological shift. (EKN)

The quantification of communication network integration provides valuable information for the study of language change in very small rural communities such as Grossdorf, Austria. The approach is particularly relevant when study of aggregate group behavior has failed to yield results due to small sample size or group internal inconsistency. (26…