This article reports on a set of language attitude experiments undertaken in Belize in 2013--2014. The experiments tested attitudes toward Belizean Kriol in two different situational settings among 96 Belizean university students, exploring the extent to which experimental 'setting' had an effect on survey results. We administered verbal guise…

Language shift is the process by which a speech community in a contact situation (i.e. consisting of bilingual speakers) gradually stops using one of its two languages in favor of the other. The causal factors of language shift are generally considered to be social, and researchers have focused on speakers' attitudes (both explicit and unstated)…

Twenty linguistic features found in essays of Creole-speaking students taking remedial writing courses at Hunter College are discussed and illustrated. The students spoke a creole or post-creole language as their mother tongue. The language varieties, which are those most frequently encountered in East Coast urban centers from Boston to Miami, are…

This English-to-Creole and Creole-to-English glossary is part of a four-volume set designed to teach Belizean Creole to Peace Corps volunteers. Common Creole words which do not occur in English and words that occur in both languages but with different meanings are included. The glossary is intended to serve as a guide to pronunciation of common…

Three categories of topic referents (nominal, pronominal, and periphrastic) are identified in 27 Belizean texts and 12 American texts, and the effects of referent choice of two variables (topic number and stylistic/lectal context) are investigated. One finding is that Belizean lects are strikingly similar to spontaneous styles of American English.…

This teacher's handbook is designed for native speakers of Belizean Creole who teach their own language to American Peace Corps volunteers. The handbook is one of a four-part set which also includes a communication and culture workbook, a grammar workbook, and a glossary, all of which should be used together to teach students to communicate in…

Reexamines the history and contemporary structure of Caribbean English creole continua, with illustrations from the varied sociolinguistic situations in Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Argues that continua existed there from the earliest period of contact and supports a coexistent systems approach to the contemporary structure of these…

This handbook provides lessons and exercises for Peace Corps volunteers learning to communicate in Belizean Creole. The 41 lessons emphasize such aspects of Belizean culture as asking for directions, talking about personal feelings, introducing people, visiting, when to use Creole, Creole food, and the economy. Each lesson includes a conversation…

Discusses the relationship between the language use patterns of multilinguals and their media preferences and exposure. Suggests that the frequency of a particular language's use correlates with preferences for and exposure to television in that language. Shows this relationship to be more pronounced with specific cultural programing. (KEH)

Papers in comparative and historical linguistics are presented. "The Independent Development of Mid Tone in Suma" (Mary Bradshaw) extends earlier research on tone change in Gbaya languages to Suma, a Gbaya language previously not included. "Diachronic Morphology: An Overview" (Brian Joseph) reviews diachronic morphological…