The language of twins allows researchers in language development to examine acquisition in a unique environment. Researchers investigating the nature-nurture controversy, the order of acquisition, and other linguistic features find the twin situation particularly interesting because of the children's shared genetic makeup and environment. A…

Intended for students in regular and advanced composition classes, each of the four controlled composition exercises presented in this paper aims at teaching writing style through carefully constructed short passages that concentrate on an isolated problem in style such as parallel structure, relative clauses, pseudo-relative clauses, and…

Coherence and cohesion are fundamental considerations of the composing process that help to define the global and local components of texuality. Global text coherence centers on those aspects of the familiar rhetorical situation. Coherence operates at the paragraph and essay levels, answering questions about focus, tone, mode, topic, and thesis.…

Research was conducted to examine selected formal features of conversational segments enacted by family members in three modes of television programming: documentary, prime time, and soap opera. A sample of videotape recordings for each program format was content-analyzed for: (1) segment length, (2) length of conversational turn, and (3) duration…

This paper examines the speech performance characteristic of the college lecturer. One of the most organized forms of speech performance, the lecture functions as a referential monologue and has a necessarily topical focus. Specifically dealt with are the ways in which lecturers introduce new topics, link together topical utterances, and close out…

This paper argues that every language carries its own denotative, connotative, evaluative, and emotional implications. The impact of these aspects of language on a multilingual's use of languages is examined. Particular reference is made to connotative meanings of words; reference to the second person; the meaning of the term "multilingual";…

A series of computer programs and routines intended to assist researchers in the analysis of language usage--with a power comparable to statistical computer routines--was developed by the Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL). This document is one of a series that describes the design specifications for the individual modules which comprise the…

Based on research conducted in Oakland, California, between 1965 and 1967, this dissertation explores some aspects of language behavior in a black working-class community. Chapter 1 deals with selected features of the code which serve to differentiate the speech community from others and compares the findings of the present study with those of…

Describes a successful unit on language that involved having students describe a specialized use of language they had personally experienced. (DD)

Examination of the phonological acquisition of a young girl whose parents spoke two Cantonese dialects indicated that she acquired neither parents' dialect, supporting the claim that children use all available input in acquiring language rather than limiting themselves to a primary language model. (Author/CB)

Traces the history of the presence of black people's languages in Great Britain and also provides a contemporary perspective on current needs to define and articulate these language needs and to contribute toward the theory and development of language teaching, teacher training, and production of teaching material. (Author/CB)

This article discusses sociolinguistics and how certain of its norms bear a direct relationship to the teaching objectives of EFL. (CLK)

Argues that the implicit tendency to infer that the sophistication of one's verbal behavior mirrors one's cognitive sophistication must be scrutinized, and demonstrates that the assessment of the verbal behavior of nonstandard speakers must be accomplished via a medium that is not "foreign" to those in question. (Author/JM)

Reports on two studies of the similarities and differences in communicative style between Japanese- and English-speaking parents. Findings reveal that Japanese mothers pay considerable attention to their children's narratives and facilitate frequent turn exchanges, whereas English-speaking mothers allow their children to take long monologic turns…