Discussed the pronunciation of the phoneme /s/ in Spanish and all the linguistic variations of it, especially in the dialects that have the sibilant articulation. (NCR)

Handbooks of French phonetics disagree with the findings of phonetic research. Discussed are: differentiating between teaching pronunciation and auditory perception: the difference between acoustic and semantic hearing; and the importance of nasal regressive and progressive assimilation in contemporary spoken French. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Recent work on perceptual learning shows that listeners' phonemic representations dynamically adjust to reflect the speech they hear (Norris, McQueen, & Cutler, 2003). We investigate how the perceptual system makes such adjustments, and what (if anything) causes the representations to return to their pre-perceptual learning settings. Listeners are…

One of the central challenges of ESL teaching is striking the right balance between form and meaning. In pronunciation pedagogy, this challenge is compounded because repetitive practice, which has been shown to enhance phonological acquisition and promote fluency, is widely viewed as being incompatible with communicative principles. This article…

This article discusses reasons for explicit pronunciation instruction, despite the continued neglect of this area in the communicative classroom. "ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002)" and "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" (National Standards, 1999) dictate that teachers…

By centralizing the issue of test fairness in language proficiency assessments, this study responds to a call by researchers for developing greater social responsibility in the language testing agenda. As inquiries into language attitude and psychology indicate, there is an underlying uncertainty pertaining to the validity of test use and score…

One of the key concerns of educators is to come to know what works in language teaching and under which conditions (Intercultural) Communicative Competence can be furthered. This concern is even bigger among professionals experimenting or willing to experiment with new media. Following socio-constructivist theories of learning (Vygotsky, 1978) and…

This paper discusses the slight nasalization occurring in Spanish to the vowels preceding "n" or "m" when placed before a "b" or "p" between two nasal consonants, in word-initial position or in elision. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

This English-Chinyanja (Cinyanja) dictionary was prepared and published by the Zambesi Mission for use in Africa. Compilers of this volume were aided by Africans of Southern Angoniland and a Yao tribesman from the Blantyre district knowledgeable in Chinyanja. Spelling rules used are those of the United Translation Board, which has adopted…

My study explores Adjunct Control in two South Asian languages, Telugu (Dravidian) and Assamese (Indo-Aryan), within the Minimalist Program of syntactic theory. Adjunct Control is a relation of obligatory co-referentiality between two subjects, one in the matrix clause and one in an adjunct/subordinate clause of the same structure. Telugu and…

This dissertation compares the phonetic and phonological features of adult non-speakers' productions of words in an endangered Native American language, Oregon Northern Paiute (also known, and hereafter referred to, as Numu), to productions by fluent speakers. The purpose of this comparison is two-fold. The first purpose is to examine the…

The term "faux intermediaire" refers to a student who has studied French for one, two, or even several years, by means of one instructional method or another, and who has some knowledge, though often insufficient and incorrect, of French pronunciation. Three levels of student pronunciation proficiency are described: the phonological, the phonetic,…

This text, intended primarily for Arab trainees at the University of Arizona Environmental Research Laboratory and other native speakers of Arabic, contains 37 lessons of introductory materials. Each lesson contains dialogues and basic texts, vocabulary, pronunciation exercises, grammar, and drills. A vocabulary index concludes the text. (RL)