Discusses the rise of Mexican Spanish as a distinct variety of Spanish and describes the regional and social dialects of contemporary Mexican Spanish. Although countless similarities exist between Mexican Spanish and the Chicano Spanish spoken in the southwestern United States, Mexican Spanish shows greater variability. (GR)

Discusses the orthography of an unstandardized written language variety, the English-lexicon Creole used in Britain by writers of Caribbean heritage. Argues that while the spelling of Creole is highly variable, writers are choosing conventions that emphasize the differences between Creole and standard English. (Author/JL)

Examines linguistic data from peripheral areas of Mexico and suggests that the contemporary resistance of the final /s/ in Spanish is characteristic only of urban regions. The study also hypothesizes that Spanish final /s/ was once more generally weakened throughout Mexico. An indirect Nahuatl contribution is also postulated. (62 references)…

Discusses the language situation in the region of Brittany in France, where the Breton language, a Celtic rather than Romance language, is dying out but a Breton ethnic identity is growing. (Author/JL)

Examines the role of the educational and socioeconomic levels of the speakers in advancing linguistic change. The study reviews three grammatical phenomena found at distinct stages of change. Individuals at the lower socioeconomic and educational strata of society embrace innovations in language more readily than their affluent and educated…

A study of Hebrew poems for children revealed elements of the historical and sociolinguistic dilemmas encountered in the revival of spoken Hebrew, including conflicts concerning usage and change. (MSE)

Traces the history of Africans in Mexico and the Costa Chica and compares elements of the regional speech as described in a 1958 study with data collected on-site in 1991-1992. Findings indicate that the successful introduction of public education coupled with the ubiquity of the mass media have reduced or eliminated the more distinctively…

Analysis of survey responses regarding Ghanaians' preferred language policy indicated that a "3+1" language policy, involving individuals' learning of a national, international, and local language, constitutes an equilibrium outcome, although some minority-language groups would need to learn a fourth language if their vernacular is…

A survey of 55 Chinese students and scholars visiting the United States investigated attitudes toward the spread of Putonghua, the standard variety of Chinese. Results indicate six categories of attitude, five supporting its spread. They also show a correlation of attitude with age, birthplace, current residence, and parents' occupation.…