A study of the acquisition of interrogative forms in children of high socioeconomic status reveals that utterances belong more to the colloquial than to the standard range. It is concluded that disadvantaged children would show similar usage, leading to the suggestion that teachers teach language as they use it. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

Discusses the problem of discrepancies between the pedagogical model of the French language traditionally used in language instruction, and the model of so-called "common French." (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Students must be familiar with current abbreviations, especially their appropriateness at varying levels of language. This paper discusses their formation and use, and includes a list of the abbreviations, initials, and acronyms most common in contemporary French. (Text is in French.) (DB)

Discusses the dilemma that language variation studies have caused concerning the choice of language variety to be used in language instruction, and outlines a taxinomic model for looking at language variation (Text is in French.) (CLK)

The essence of translation lies in the preservation of semantic, pragmatic and textual meaning across two languages. The model proposed considers the following: situational dimensions; dimensional errors; the distinction between overt and covert translation; application of cultural filters; social role relationships; and the purpose for the…

This article discusses the influence of cultural factors on language, particularly in the area of lexicon, and is intended for students of Spanish as a second language. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

Discusses the relationship in language and specifically in French between the standard language norm, the various registers and styles available to native speakers of a given language, and second language learning. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Because of the language changes that have taken place in the People's Republic of China since 1949, Chinese can be seen as a language divided between the pre-1949 varieties and the post-1949 ones. What is taught in the United States does not reflect the current Chinese situation, partly because most of the native language teachers in the United…

Standard measures and techniques are needed to establish resemblances and differences among languages. A determination of the degree to which one lanquage or dialect differs from another requires the examination of language universals. To study what languages have in common, attention has to be given to the physical, psychological, and social…

This paper discusses the use of pop, rock, and folk music in foreign language teaching. Modern music represents an idiom familiar to a broad span of young people, and has an important place in the life of students ranging in age from ten to thirty-five years of age. It also tends to follow and comment on the important trends of modern society.…

The most basic and simplest act of communicative competence in Spanish involves the appropriate decoding and selection of the pronominal address forms "tu" and "Usted." Their selection and semantic value are not, however, determined by linguistic criteria alone. Since "tu/Ud." mark the relative status of each speaker in a given context, their…

This paper reports an investigation into the transitional dialect spoken by learners in the process of learning a second language. Theories concerning the psychology of second language learning which have been hypothesized by a small number of people in the field are discussed. These theories were first reported on from Scotland and England and…

Errors can be considered concrete representations of stages through which one must go in order to acquire one's native language and a second language. It has been discovered that certain errors appear systematically, revealing an approximate system, or "interlanguage," behind the erroneous utterances. Present research in second language…

A role-playing procedure for elicitation of speech acts was designed to study aspects of the communicative competence of second language learners, namely, their language variation with respect to deference when the age and sex of the addressee are systematically manipulated. Sixteen Spanish-speaking adult learners of English as a second language…