This paper presents a critical assessment of the utility of the orthography of Dagbani (a Gur language of Ghana) in the documentation, linguistic research, and literacy acquisition of Dagbani. While written literature on Dagbani dates to over a century, it was only in 1997 that the only known documented orthographic rules of the language, the…

This article synthesises progress made in the description of spoken (especially conversational) grammar over the 20 years since the authors published a paper in this journal arguing for a re-thinking of grammatical description and pedagogy based on spoken corpus evidence. We begin with a glance back at the 16th century and the teaching of Latin…

Explores possibilities for the study of divergent aspects of discursive practices by focusing on the notion of voice and considers implications for second language writing research and instruction. Examines recent critiques of the notion of voice that emphasize its strong association with the ideology of individualism. Presents evidence of voice…

Examines the speech communities associated with computer-mediated communication (CMC). Summarizes results from research and adds a critical perspective by questioning who is advantaged and disadvantaged by CMC. Brings these concerns to bear on the application of CMC to distance education, raising questions about its use in teaching English as a…