This paper makes three arguments reaffirming the overwhelming complexities inherent in any real history of the language of blacks in North America. (1) Although the study of black English, however that term may be defined, is desirable in itself and was profitable for white linguists during the 1960s and early 1970s, it did not and never will do…

This bibliography is divided into five sections. The second, third, fourth, and fifth sections are each devoted to publications in one specified area, American, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English respectively. The first section lists bibliographies pertaining to all of these areas. Entries in all sections include both American and…

Traces the history of sociolinguistic studies in West Germany from the early nineteenth century with Humboldt and reports on the state and purposes of sociolinguistic studies in present-day Federal Republic of Germany. Available from Liber Laeromedel, Box 1205, S-22105 Lund, Sweden (Text is in German.) (TL)

Written in Spanish, the article focuses on the sociolinguistic characteristics of Chicano Spanish and a method for emphasizing the morphosyntactic component in dialect studies. The term dialect is applied to the language used in the Southwest. The term sub-dialect is utilized to indicate local variations within the Southwest. (NQ)

An attempt to apply Blom's and Gumperz' model of code-switching to a small Swedish community in northern Sweden, Burtrask. The informants spoke standard Swedish, the Burtrask dialect, and a third variety which was a combination of the two. (CFM)

Reviews the rationale for and programmatic structure of two experimental language awareness programs and discusses some of the ethical issues requiring consideration in the implementation of such programs. These ethical considerations include the ethics of persuasion and need, the ethics of representation, the ethics of socio-educational change,…

Using the case of a vernacular variety spoken on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this article demonstrates how linguistic-systemic principles such as remorphologization, psycholinguistic principles of perceptual saliency, and sociolinguistic processes of symbolic identity converge to account for the development of leveling in this community.…

The three conditions given in the literature for the pervasiveness of linguistic insecurity (a speaker's attitude toward his or her own speech revealed in face to face interaction through the upward or downward shift of language forms) exist in the case of speakers of the Spanish vernacular of Puerto Rico. The conditions are: the rise of a middle…

This study is an inquiry into the processes of linguistic adaptation. Its purpose was to investigate the factors which are likely to influence change and retention of regional dialects outside of their regional context. Specifically, the focus of the study was on native Oklahoma speech in the Tulare area of rural California. Data were gathered…

This article discusses the various dialects of English spoken in Liberia and analyzes the problems of Liberian students in writing compositions in English. Errors arise mainly from differences in culture and cognition, not from superficial linguistic problems. (CFM)

This paper examines the problem of a curriculum which promotes a standard linguistic variety in a context where non-standardisms are common in the learners' milieu. There have been curricula which try to incorporate the non-standard and have its function discussed; some have considered the non-standard a stepping-stone towards the standard; and…

The two authors conducted a small empirical study to attempt to find support for--or evidence against--the view that international tests of English language proficiency are unfair to speakers of non-standards forms of English, since these tests privilege standard forms. We explore the question of whose norms should be imposed in these tests, and…

This is an introductory study of the mutual intelligibility among the various dialects and languages in the Manitowinini family. Specific languages considered include Powhatan, Lenape, Natick, Otchipwe, and Nanticoke. The goal of the study is not merely to comprehend inter-tribal relations better, but also to discover the actual…

Verbal and nonverbal patterns of communication found in the black community are discussed in this paper. They have been selected on the basis of their potential as interference factors in intergroup communication. A section on black language describes and explains the following categories: rapping, running it down, jiving, shucking, copping a…

This is an outline of the beginning of dialectology, its growth, its methods, and changes in approach over time. Various dialectology studies and linguistic atlases, from early 19th century to present, are cited. Use of modern techniques in further research is suggested. Available from Western Washington State College, Bellingham, WA 98225. (TL)