This book traces the development of speech from a time when the spiritual roots of words were still experienced, down to the present day when words are in danger of being little else than 'bits' of information. The book illustrates the origins of everyday words and names and traces the use of words through history. It shows how certain sounds…

Comments on the effects technology and industrialization have on language change. (MM)

Discusses two basic areas of difference between British and American English, namely the complementation of certain participles and the complementation of certain verbs. Complementation after "concerned" and "interested" is illustrated by several examples taken from speech and from newspaper advertisements. (AMH)

Gives an overview of the language situation on Ponape, with reference to social structure. (AM)

Argues that the study of contact varieties of a language are relevant to understanding of second language acquisition and use, because non-canonical contact languages are often situated on a continuum between pidginization and the more general processes of untutored second language acquisition. Data on participle regularization in Namibian Black…

The grammaticalization of "liao" as a main verb in tenth-century vernacular texts to "le" as an aspectual particle in modern Chinese is investigated. The change is attributed to the resultative construction coming into existence in the language and to instances where the verb took sentential subjects or occurred in temporal clauses only. (17…

Sociolinguistic research on linguistic change, i.e., the use of high rising terminal contours (HRTs) in declarative clauses, is reported based on interviews from 75 inhabitants of Porirua. Results show that linguistic change is in progress, with HRTs favored by young Maori and young Pakeha women. Results are explained in terms of HRTs as positive…

A social dialect survey of a New Zealand community documented a change in progress in the pronunciation of the vowels in words such as "air" and "ear." The data support a tentative interpretation that a shift to the variant with the closer onset for AIR words was initiated by middle-aged Pakeha women. (38 references) (Author/LB)

Colloquial Indonesian has two pronouns for addressing friends of a similar age or younger persons, namely "kamu" and "elu" (or its variants, "lu," "elo," and "lo"). This article examines variation in the use of these terms by two pairs of teenagers involved in romantic relationships. Based on data from contemporary fictional narratives, it…

The pronunciation and use of /s/ in the isleno dialect of Spanish, a dying language spoken in a small ethnic enclave in southeast Louisiana, is examined. Today, there are fewer than 20 fluent speakers of isleno Spanish, which has been described as a fossilized derivative of the speech of Canary Island peasants with additions from Spanish sailors.…

The theory of diglossia developed by Charles Ferguson in 1959, and a later, expanded version by Joshua Fishman are outlined and contrasted, and some of the major objections to them are discussed. Diglossia delineates communities using two or more linguistic varieties for differing functions within a single speech community. Ferguson's theory…

Lists the various ways superlatives may be formed in Spanish, e.g. by adding certain suffixes, by repetition of the adjective, etc. Also shows the forms and uses of superlatives at various levels of communication. (Text is in Spanish.) (TL)

Surveys the various forms and applications of the French negatives. Discusses the tendency to omit "ne" in spoken French, which depends on form (conversation vs. narration), external circumstances (public vs. private), socio-cultural level (upper class vs. lower class), and attitude of speaker (spontaneity vs. affectation). (Text is in French.)…

This article discusses the Singapore English speech continuum and its development, use and relation to sociolinguistic factors. An ethnic and linguistic background is also provided, as well as a discussion of a sub-variety known as Singlish. (CLK)

This analysis encompasses graphemic, phonological, lexical and syntactic variations of Chicano Spanish from standard Spanish and the functions of the vernacular within the speech community. (RM)