Some data dispute the common assumption of linguists that speakers of nonstandard varieties of English lack functional command of Standard English. Hawaiian high school students were found equally competent in Standard and Hawaiian English. Implications of this finding for educational practices in Hawaii are discussed. (CHK)

This article touches upon the cultural and linguistic factors important to the development of a Saamish standard language. The Swedish Saamis, and the status standard Saamish has among them, are dealt with in particular. (CFM)

Conversational data from a native speaker of European Portuguese from the island of Faial were analyzed to determine segmental and prosodic contexts favoring unstressed vowel deletion. Factors such as rhythmic preservation, syllable structure, and functional load are discounted in the analysis, suggesting vowel deletion is essentially a word-based…

Notes that English coronal stop deletion is constrained by the preceding segment, so that stops and sibilants favor deletion more than liquids and nonsibilant fricatives. Suggests the existence of an attractive theoretical integration of categorical and variable processes in the grammar to account for the constraint. (26 references) (Author/CK)

Considers the role of native-speaker English language teachers in Hong Kong. First, the article examines the concept of native speaker and offers five criteria that determine whether a person can be classed as a native speaker or not. Second, it focuses on the use of native-speaker English teachers in Hong Kong, with particular reference to a…

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)

Hebrew-speaking fourth and seventh graders from lower middle-class backgrounds were tested on gender markings of numerals in two situations involving monitored and unmonitored situations. Results indicated the disappearance of gender agreement in Modern Hebrew numerals and a re-analysis of numeral suffixes by speakers. (Author/JL)

Reexamines the history and contemporary structure of Caribbean English creole continua, with illustrations from the varied sociolinguistic situations in Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Argues that continua existed there from the earliest period of contact and supports a coexistent systems approach to the contemporary structure of these…

Considers a selection of discourse and rhetorical norms of Modern Standard Chinese and contrasts them with a comparable selection of discourse and rhetorical norms of an "inner circle" variety of English. Because transfer of discourse and rhetorical norms from a first to a second language commonly occurs, predicts that a Chinese variety…

An analysis of the linguistic and social contexts of the occurrence of verbal "-s" marking in early Black English, within a historical and comparative perspective, shows that both third person singular and nonconcord "-s" are subject to regular, parallel environmental conditioning. (68 references) (Author/CB)

Examines the fifth edition of S. I. Hayakawa's "Language in Action" in terms of original strengths and major content still intact, reorganization of chapters with updated application sections, and new chapters on television advertisement and use of deceptive language. (KEH)

A study investigated variation from certain morphophonological and phonetic features normally associated with familiar, popular, or vulgar speech as they occur in a prestigious variety of French (spoken on a French literary talk show). Phonostylistic variation in the speech of host and guests is examined. (Author/MSE)

Investigates university students' attitudes toward different varieties of Arabic, including Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Bedouin, Fallahi, and Madani. The highest rated variety was MSA, the lowest rated was Madani, and Bedouin was preferred over Madani as a colloquial variety. (GLR)

Investigates the tonal changes in Mandarin Chinese from 1932 when "standard Mandarin" was legitimized to the period between 1963-85 during which two studies on tones were carried out. Discussion focuses on differences over time, and on differences between actual pronunciations or words in Taipei and Beijing and their dictionary…

Provides an analysis of the syntax of Straits Salish. Main clauses consist of an initial predicate followed by a second position clitic string of inflectional elements, the subject pronoun and tense. Evidence is provided against copular verb analysis as further proof of the lack of the noun/verb distinction at the lexical level. (52 references)…