This feature presents the second part of a list of Spanish words that may have a second meaning which is frequently obscene, and words that are ill-sounding to speakers of Spanish. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

This article discusses the vestiges of the language of Cervantes in the popular language of Paraguay. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

This feature presents the third part of a list of Spanish words that may have a second meaning which is frequently obscene, and words that are ill-sounding to speakers of Spanish. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

This collection of papers provides a broad overview of the foundations of, and current research on, language variation in the southern United States, exploring historical and cultural elements, iconic contemporary features, and current changes in progress. The 12 papers are: (1) "The Origins of Southern American English" (John Algeo);…

Every spoken linguistic system shared by a community has structurally related regional variants. For example, the variant of the present day French for "soixante-dix" is "septante" in eastern France, Belgium, and the French-speaking community of Switzerland. This suggests that Proto-Romance has regionalisms. Using the…

The study of dialects offers a fascinating approach to learning about language. By learning about how language varies geographically and socially, students will come to understand that language changes over time, and that language use is linked to social identity. Language variation, or dialect diversity, reflects the fact that languages change…

Describes the procedures followed in obtaining samples of spoken French in five different dialectal areas of the Vaud Canton. Analyses these samples for certain vocalic and consonantal features and classifies the data along a rigidity-flexibility scale correlated with individual hesitation and group fluctuation. (MES)

Discusses dialectal differences in the aggregate. Employs a dialectometric technique that provides an additive measure of pronunciation difference: The (aggregate) pronunciation difference. Sampled Dutch towns and villages, where the variation ranges between 56% and 81%, lending credence to the dialect continuum view. (Author/VWL)

Quantitative evidence is presented for a change in vernacular Black English (VBE) that appears to involve increasing similarities between VBE and other varieties. It is suggested that, although Black varieties and White varieties of English remain distinct and undergo certain changes separately, this need not be regarded as absolute divergence.…

Examines how successfully changes in the high- and mid-front and -back vowels in the South are being disseminated throughout a local urban community, and how these changes fit in with changes occurring in other American dialects. Weighs the attraction to local or national norms in determining success and diffusion of shifts relative to the social…

Investigates the perception and application of the norm in South African English with specific reference to Black South African English. Hypothesizes that South African English is in the hibernation and expansion phase. Three sets of data are presented and analyzed. (Author/VWL)

Investigates stress placement in one variety of Black South African English (BSAE), namely Tswana English. A corpus of 333 polysyllabic words was analyzed in detail to determine the properties of the Tswana English stress system; properties were interpreted by means of optimality theory. Concludes that stress is stored lexically in function words,…

As the several specific applications in this paper demonstrate, multidimensional scaling provides a long-needed means for investigating and describing spatial relationships among speech varieties. It is especially applicable to the relationships among varieties of a single language (or more properly, linguistic "cline"), which, as is…

Foreign language teaching methodology is confronted with the problem of teaching Spanish to English-dominant native Spanish speakers. Linguistic documentation is lacking to accurately evaluate the linguistic competence of the bilingual student, documentation also useful in the preparation of adequate instructional materials. This paper describes…

This article defines the linguistic situation in Puerto Rico and explains why the term "bilingualism" cannot be used to accurately describe the linguistic reality there. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)