Discussion of the Arabic version of "Sesame Street" addresses the choice of a simplified modern standard usage as the series' language, definition of this language variety in terms of its distinguishing linguistic characteristics, and the implications of this choice for the future of Arabic and Arabic language instruction. (Author/MSE)

Argues that native speakers of English should not seek to overexploit its position as a world language; they should respect nonnative usage as expressing other peoples' identities and should be prepared to modify native usage to become more efficient international communicators. (JL)

Historical/sociocultural circumstances of the French language in Canada are outlined and the role of Quebec French in Canadian language education is discussed, focusing on its place in French teaching outside Quebec and in development of bilingualism. Establishment of a Quebecois language is viewed as essential to French Canadian cultural…

Six propositions express central and crucial functions of language. Knowledge of these concepts constitutes language awareness, and they should therefore be used as a basis for designing language awareness curricula. They are that: (1) each individual has the ability to produce an unlimited number of different utterances from the limited…

This document presents some of the issues involved in deciding on a national language for the Philippines. It is noted that the Philippines needs a national language which would be accepted by most of the forty-five million Filipinos. If the trend continues for the next five years and if the trend in the Philippines to shift Pilipino (the national…

Discusses language shift in one community from German-Hungarian bilingualism to the exclusive use of German. Young women are further along in this direction than others. The linguistic contrast is shown to represent the social dichotomy between a newly available worker status and traditional peasant status. (Author/RM)

Four hypotheses explaining the origin of Berbice Dutch, a Dutch-based Creole language spoken in the county of Berbice in Guyana, are explored. The most likely explanation is that the language was first spoken by Berbice slaves as a means of expressing the identity of a newly created "ethnic" group. (Author/CB)

The textbook, entirely in French, is an introduction to functional phonology. The first six chapters present the basics of functional phonology, insisting on the specific aspects of this approach for the description of languages. Principles and procedures of synchronic analysis are outlined and illustrated through many examples. Chapter 7 is…

Discusses the feasibility of Basic Variety (BV) principles proposed by Klein and Perdue, arguing that some of them need clarification with learner varieties and that they are not part of Universal Grammar (UG) as they exclude phenomena (e.g., psych verbs) that cannot be excluded from the core of natural language. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Investigates whether speakers of standard German and Dutch maintain their language variety better than speakers of German and Dutch dialects. Also investigates the phenomenon of diglossia in immigrant societies and shows that the type of diglossia prevalent in the immigrant's home country significantly affects the language situation in the new…

An exploration of the history and status of the English language around the world focuses on how beliefs and attitudes have shaped and continue to shape the role of the language. An introductory section examines how perceptions of standard English have paralleled a tendency toward increased linguistic intolerance in the twentieth century.…

This article reviews the situation of the instruction of French in Quebec, in terms of the role of French and attitudes toward standard and non-standard varieties of French, the acquisition of French by native French speakers. Bidialectal instruction is suggested as one way of dealing with non-standard varieties. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Reports and interprets the results of a survey of international graduate students' attitudes toward English. The functions and varieties of English are considered and the worldwide role of English is discussed. Research suggests that students lack awareness of issues such as nativization of English. (Author/JL)

Critiques the idea that standard British or American English is the only model for second language instruction, arguing that successful English language teaching in nonnative contexts, such as in India, must address the relationship between the forms that English manifests and its speakers' perception of reality and the nature of their cultural…

Araki is one of around a hundred languages of the Republic of Vanuatu. It is a language spoken by the people of Araki, an islet situated near the south western part of Santo, in the north of Vanuatu. Linguistic statistics have shown a gradual decline in the number of speakers. This study presents evidence to show that Araki is a declining language…