A course to make students aware of the patterns of the different dialects of American English is offered by the Dade County Public Schools. Designed to foster tolerance for other ways of speaking, the quinmester program helps students to determine their own dialect and to compare it with alternative forms of speech. The course content includes a…

Examines several areas where traditional work in dialectology has proven inadequate. Outlines specific areas where sociolinguistics can make a substantial contribution. Discusses (1) the bias in dialectology toward the historical; (2) the relative lack of attention paid to the heterogeneity of the speech community and the variability of speech;…

The first section of this paper is a general discussion of standard English. The nine sections which follow discuss the concept of correctness and the ideological differences between grammarians and purists; standard English in a historical perspective; Eric Partridge's (1969) taxonomy of the degrees and kinds of standard English, including…

This discussion of standard language and dialect is based on opinions and theories regarding Slavonic languages. A set of objective criteria is offered. Distinctions between language, standard language, dialect, glottolect and sociolect are made, and social and political conditions which give rise to them are discussed. References are included.…

This report is designed to aid the college instructor preparing prospective English teachers in the area of dialect studies. It includes a general description of the nature of dialect, teaching suggestions, and an extensive annotated bibliography. The articles which make up the report are as follows: "Historical, Regional and Social…

This paper describes a graduate course for language arts teachers at Georgia State University in Atlanta, titled Social Dialects and Language Learning. Classroom procedures and activities in the course were organized into five cumulative, related phases to engage the teachers in useful fieldwork in order to achieve major objectives of the course.…

DESPITE EFFORTS TO SUBSTITUTE "DIALECT" FOR "USAGE" IN THE GRAMMARIAN'S VOCABULARY, THERE IS STILL A PLACE FOR THE LATTER TERM, FOR WITHIN ANY DIALECT THERE ARE MANY CHOICES OF FORM, WORD, AND CONSTRUCTION. THE TEACHING OF USAGE CAN BE FOUNDED ON TWO SIMPLE PRINCIPLES--(1) THE EXTENT OF SOCIAL PENALTY FOR USING THE ITEM AND (2) THE FREQUENCY OF…

A Five-Point Program for teaching English in the inner city... based on the real needs of the Black ghetto student. (Author)

Shows that the English names of meals are variously applied, according to geographical area and social class, as well as working hours and personal habits. (IFS/WGA)

Explores the tension between the manner in which intergroup language differences are used to symbolize group membership and the manner in which they mirror and reinforce social class and power distinctions. (EKN)

Discusses the problems involved in making room for language variation realities in the teaching of French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

An understanding of dialect differences goes beyond the recognition that people talk differently; it concerns the way dialects differentiate themselves, the main differences in the patterns, and the method of discovering the patterns of various dialects. This booklet is intended for those who need to know more specific information concerning the…