This study aims at identifying the concept of diglossia, its causes and methods of treatment, and its negative effects. The researchers used the descriptive method. The study revealed the following most important results: Firstly, the reason for language diglossia is contact between languages and emergence of new other languages or dialects which…

While the defining cases of diglossia offered in Charles Ferguson's 1959 article have long been useful as vehicles for introducing this important form of societal multilingualism, they are also problematic in that they differ from each other in a number of significant ways. This article proposes a modified and more precise framework in which…

This paper is a general study of one of varieties of English--China English and its influence on English Language Teaching (ELT) for English majors. The status of English as an International language breaks the situation in which British English or American English is the sole standard. English becomes World Englishes, taking on a plural form,…

Provides a survey of the second language literature on the role of formulaic language, focusing on communicative, production, and learning strategy functions of such language. The need to address the theoretical and methodological difficulties surrounding the definition and identification of formulaic language is discussed. (105 references) (MDM)

Argues that while much research on spoken Arabic uses Classical Arabic as the standard for measuring variation, the assumption leads to fundamental and persistent misunderstanding of the true situation. More careful examination of empirical data reveals that variation and change in spoken Arabic involves interplay between local varieties and…

Attitudes toward usage, accent, and dialect in spoken English are examined, drawing on literature in the field and data from a British study of year 9 students' (pupils aged 13-14) language awareness. The dilemma inherent in teaching standard spoken usage while encouraging maintenance of ethnic and regional identity is examined, with attention…

Even in culturally homogeneous settings, language has an important role in the social interaction of adolescents. This study investigated the importance of values concerning dialect and language variation in a group of 62 ninth-grade students. Subjects, 23 black, 21 white, and 18 native Spanish-speaking individuals, were asked to listen to a tape…

Parallels between processes in society and in language are drawn in this analysis of problems involved in eliminating sexism in language. The paper is organized as follows: varieties of sexism in language are outlined; the linguistic notion of marking is applied to the sexist structures; psychological aspects of such marking are considered;…

Formality as a style may be defined as language which reflects or "keynotes" the degree of familiarity between participants in a discourse. Working from this assumption, this paper attempts to answer the question, "How is formality best described?" Results of a series of tests indicate that informants' labels (with the…

The national re-emergence of Scotland is accompanied by the desire for cultural and linguistic autonomy and identity. Issues at hand include language standardization, bilingual education, the language problems of immigrants, the role of Gaelic as compared to the continuum of linguistic varieties that go from Standard English to Scots, the adoption…

The use of language in education is examined, and the ways in which recent research helps in the understanding of classroom language are explored. The relevance of such research to practicing teachers as well as to sociologists is also discussed. The volume is divided into nine chapters: (1) "Why Is Language Important in Education?"; (2)…

A discussion of bidialectalism looks at whether it is analogous to bilingualism, particularly in the case of young speakers of Black English, and how this and related considerations may inform reading instruction. Theory and research concerning dialects and bidialectalism, bilingualism and its various types, and linguistic competence and…

This paper provides a sociolinguistic discussion of the language situation in Israel, based on relevant linguistic and Hebraic literature and on the author's two year visit to the area. The author discusses the background and use of the many different languages spoken in the country; the function of each language is described. Characteristics of…

A study investigated attitudes of 132 Austrian university students of English toward three native English accents (standard British, near-standard British, American) and two Austrian non-native accents. Results confirm non-native accents' low status, and indicate personal preference for whichever accent is most familiar from overseas visits. Most…

The Unit for Advanced Studies in Modern Swedish (FUMS) at Uppsala University has one of the largest collections of spontaneous present-day spoken Swedish and has housed many sociolinguistic research projects since the 1960s. The four studies generating the most empirical data are on: The Urban Dialect of Eskilstuna; The Child's Linguistic…