This paper examines BELF (Business English as a Lingua Franca) teaching and researching in China. A literature review is conducted using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. This survey includes a cursory literature search on BELF and a thorough literature study of 12 Chinese major academic journals. From the data collected…

Reports on attempts to reconstruct the Proto-Chinese sound system, based on linguistic data from modern Chinese dialects rather than ancient rhyme dictionaries and tables, resulting in a sound system with 29 onsets and 74 rhymes and some new rules for sound changes. (18 references) (Author/CB)

Discusses the close relationship between historical linguistics and dialectology, pointing out, through analysis and reconstruction of Taiwanese dialects, that the tasks of dialectologists do not stop at the making of linguistic atlases and must go beyond those tasks to reconstruct the proto-forms. (two references) (Author/CB)

Critiques controversies about Chicano dialects and, particularly, the linguistic status of Chicano English. Proposes a model of Chicano languages/dialects based on assumptions about the nature of the speech setting of Chicanos. Characterizes Chicano English as the autonomous vernacular dialect of native-English-speaking Chicanos. (70 references)…

Discusses some of the theoretical issues underlying the study of Chinese dialects, reviews the historical background within which the dialects were formed, and reviews some ongoing studies that appear promising for increasing understanding of how dialects are structured and how they are changing. (CB)

Demonstrates briefly the naturalness of dialect variation in American English, examines the implications for reading instruction of recognizing the naturalness of dialects, and provides a list of references for the professional development of teachers of children who speak dialects other than standard English. (ET)

The rhyming practices of Sima Xiangru and Wang Bao, early and mid-western Han poets of the Shu area, reveal details about the finals of their languages. Comparisons are made of similarities and differences of their dialects to that of a later compatriot, Yang Xiong. (Author/CB)

Offers a sociolinguistic appraisal of the representation of languages (as "languages" or "dialects") in the Indian census, with special reference to the status of Maithili. Classifying Maithili as an independent language threatens the homogeneity of the "Hindi belt"; conversely, treating it as a Hindi dialect might…

The simplification of legal language is required by President Carter's Executive Order requiring "clear and simple English" in government regulations. A major problem in the simplification process is the absence of any adequate description or classification of legal language. This paper defines some specific features of legal language,…

The paper discusses some issues that language variation creates for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, identifies research strands relevant to program development, and describes two dialect program exemplars. It also suggests considerations for educational policy formation with respect to dialects. The introductory section gives…