The idea that bilingualism causes cognitive damage to children is no longer held by researchers, but it lingers in popular belief. It is based on the assumption that language is central to cognitive development, which is not held by all theorists. Another theoretical issue is whether the mind is a limited-capacity container or can accommodate two…

This study examined Japanese/English code-switching in three different contexts: a bilingual radio program broadcast in Japan; language of two bilingual siblings; and an adult bilingual dinner party. Particular attention was paid to the situational meanings of code-switching and to politeness issues. Code-switching was examined first at four…

A study investigated the effects of the language used in the school environment on girls' perspectives on femininity. Subjects were aged 4-11, and were the only girls in a small rural Australian school. Data were gathered by analysis of spoken and written language used in the classroom. Analysis focused on relationships and socialization as…

A survey is presented of the Blackfeet language that is used in the Browning area of Montana. The purpose of the survey is to determine the extent to which the language is spoken and passed on at home, and the degree of interest in the language among the young people. The results are presented along with comments where appropriate. Generally, it…

In India, the use of language dialect and style, like many aspects of Indian thought and life, follows a continuum from the ritually pure and worthy of respect to the ritually defiled and unworthy. In North India, according to adult informants, Hindi is spoken at school, in formal business contacts or government offices, in formal ceremonies; it…

The great diversity in the linguistic backgrounds of children in Trinidad could be a significant factor in problems in English language learning and teaching. To investigate this possibility, teachers have been completing questionnaires concerning the linguistic background and regular exposure to Hindi, French Creole, Spanish, or Chinese, of some…

Papers from the proceedings are: "Cultural Universals in the Acquisition of Language;""The Acquisition of Locative Constructions in Cantonese Children"; "The Acquisition of VOT: Is It Language-Dependent?"; "Flexibility in Semantic Representations: Children's Ability To Switch among Different Interpretations of 'Big' and 'Little'"; "Multifunctional…

The conference papers from a colloquium on issues in bilingualism and biculturalism include: "Le bilinguisme et biculturalisme: essai de definition" ("Bilingualism and Biculturalism: Attempt at Definition") (Francois Grosjean); "La variation individuelle dans l'acquisition d'une langue seconde" ("Individual…

Research papers on language and linguistics include: "Enchainement des mots et acces au lexique en francais" ("Word Order and Lexical Access in French") (Besson); "L'apport de la coarticulation dans la perception de consonnes occlusives et constrictives" ("The Contribution of Coarticulation to the Perception of…

Papers presented at the symposium on the relationship between language and culture include, in addition to an opening adress: "Sociosemiotics Across Cultures" (Wolfgang Kuhlwein); "Translation Across Languages or Across Cultures?" (Albrecht Neubert); "Grammatical Categories Across Cultures" (Olga Tomic); "On…