Observing that foreign learners of English rarely use question tags in normal conversation, whereas native speakers of English make great use of them, the article recommends greater attention to question tags in teaching English as a foreign language. (IFS/WGA)

Problems and proper usage of German locative prepositions "an,""auf,""in,""nach," and "zu" are discussed. (CHK)

This article is directed to teachers of English as a second language and suggests sources of dialogues; ways to use dialogues in listening, speaking, reading and writing; using dialogues in personalized instruction and choosing dialogues. Dialogues should be short, natural conversations adapted to individual students. (CHK)

This article discusses diminutives in Spanish from both a semantic and a formal standpoint. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

This article discusses the nature of so-called Americanisms in present-day Latin American Spanish. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

Discusses breakdowns and complications in communication due to faulty use or over-use of words, with specific reference to Spanish. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

This article discusses the neglect of "metaphor" by translation theorists, and the translation implications of "metaphor.""Metaphor" is defined, the process of translating it is reviewed and a number of examples of metaphors translated from Hebrew to English are given. (CLK)

The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos explored the attitudes and experiences of Latinos on a wide variety of topics. The survey sample was designed to include enough Hispanics from various backgrounds and national origin groups so that in addition to describing Latinos overall, comparisons also could be…

Both the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams and the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights show the power of language as vehicles for message. Using them in class as exercises to look at language and meaning will help students understand the importance of connotation and grammar; the use and validity of sources; and the…

A study examined a form of other-initiated repair which occurs later than next turn, a form which is produced by nonnative speakers of English whose native language is Mandarin. Data consists of transcriptions of naturally occurring conversations from 12 native speaker-nonnative speaker (NS-NNS) dyads, friends who ordinarily chat. Conversational…

In the book, "Talking from 9 to 5," Deborah Tannen suggests that females have difficulty listening to males in the workplace because of the masculine inclination to talk sports the majority of the time. Men use sports idioms, metaphors, and cliches, making business a "peculiar language" which excludes "naive"…

This survey of languages of the world begins with a chart of about 500 languages, organized in 21 language families. Within each family are listed subgroups and the major and minor languages within those subgroups. The chart is followed by a brief description of each language family. This in turn is followed by individual descriptions of the more…

Of the bilinguals in the United States, 22 million are Spanish-English speakers. Spanish-English bilinguals have been producing literature in Spanish, in English, and gradually in mixtures of both languages from the earliest days of contact in the U.S. This paper explores manifestations and meanings of Spanish-English bilingualism in Latino…

This study tracked the language preference of three French/English bilingual children, twin girls aged 12.8 and a boy 14.8, over a five year period. Their parents, who are also the authors, actively worked to raise them bilingual. The girls were enrolled in a school French immersion program throughout the study. Their brother had only one semester…

The "Ebonics Resolution" was passed by the Oakland, California, school board in 1996. The proposal called for "imparting instruction to African-American students for the combined purposes of maintaining legitimacy and richness of such language...and to facilitate their acquisition and mastery of English language skills." The…