A delineation of the differences between speaking and writing should clarify the functions and possible future of prose. Speech has a speaker to provide language with inflectional stress and a visible audience to respond immediately to that language. On the other hand, prose ("an art of written language")--which is separated in time from an…

It is possible to think of women's language in terms of the model implied by the following statement. Insofar as native speakers of English are concerned, the language of women in America has four sets of components: those shared with the language of men in America; those shared, in varying proportions, with other women living in patriarchies;…

Use of French television commercials as a pedagogical tool has a great advantage over "two-dimensional" advertisements because they provide authentic and current spoken language which is often reinforced by repetitions and musical tunes as well as visual slogans on the screen. (CB)

Identifies indicators of register or style in selected portions of two lectures presented in American Sign Language, and in the interpretations of each made by two interpreters. The indicators used are speaking rate, pausing, syntax, intonation, and lexical choice. Transcripts of data are included in Appendix. (Author/LMO)

Describes and examines the word choice and frequency in six tests and raises questions about the use of word lists and controlled vocabulary in producing basal readers, judging and manipulating readability of texts, and building vocabulary. (HOD)

Repudiates the theory that black dialect has African origins. Supports the British Isles influence theory. (FL)

The influence that number naming grammar has on the understandings of two-digit numbers and place value of kindergarten children of European and Asian background was examined. Results indicate that Asian verbal/numerical representation patterns naming tens and units in order may be associated with distinctive place value concepts that support…

Describes a year-long study in a whole-language classroom of second-grade students' use of gendered language during informal interactions in writers' workshop. Points out the importance of intent in the process of communication. (SR)

This paper examines two studies on language development and narrative discourse structure by looking at how language shapes and is shaped by culture-specific experiences. Conversations between 20 middle-class Japanese preschoolers, aged 4-5 years old, and their mothers were analyzed to study differences in narrative elicitation by mothers towards…

Two research projects focused on the nature of verb choice and its relationship to a composition's general effectiveness and reader impact. In the pilot project, 28 fifth grade students received an instructional unit of 27 lessons emphasizing the incorporation of precise verb vocabulary and the elimination of forms of "to be" and "to have" as main…

The Spanish tense system was chosen as a starting point to establish the systematic character of the Spanish used in situations of intense code switching between Spanish and English. The tense system was chosen for two reasons: (1) the distinction among past tenses (in particular, the imperfect indicative vs. the preterite and the past continuous)…

This is a reflection on certain aspects of sociolinguistic and linguistic problems of French in West Africa, particularly in Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The sociolinguistic section discusses the role French has played in Africa and still plays vis-a-vis African languages and English. Conditions in which French is used and attitudes both of…

This book discusses some of the functions, ends, or goals that language serves in religion; the various kinds of linguistic resources that are exploited; and some of the social processes that characterize the use of language. In section one, "Performance," three approaches to the description of verbal behavior are contrasted. This…

Although many authors have mentioned examples of how black usually connotes a negative evaluation and white a positive evaluation, the literature on the topic has not yet included an attempt to list examples comprehensively. Those which are cited here come from a wide variety of sources: primarily from dictionaries, books of slang, and personal…

Examines the role of "routines" and grammatical patterns in first and second language acquisition by children and adults, specifically with regard to syntactic structures. (Author/AM)