Part one of this study discussed the characteristics of errors involving single fricative consonants made by English children learning their first language. Here, the second part discusses the distinctive features of the single fricatives most commonly mispronounced, as well as the characteristics of errors with clustered fricatives. (34…

The media interview is seen as a form of information exchange that is increasingly important and needs to be understood. Similarities and differences in written and oral interview reports are briefly examined, and interview objectives, forms (dialogue or narrative), and language functions are discussed. (MSE)

Suggests a culture-independent analytical framework, based on natural semantic metalanguage developed by the author, to explore and analyze six Japanese culture-specific and culturally revealing concepts and show how the semantic metalanguage helps to make the concepts clear and facilitate better insight into Japanese culture and society. (102…

Results are presented on the grammar of spoken Brazilian Portuguese, with focus on the syntactic boundaries of the main constituents of an utterance. Major differences are found both in the distribution of filling by syntactic adjuncts versus discourse elements and in the susceptibility of different syntactic boundaries to be filled. (Contains 33…

The production of regular and irregular past-tense forms was investigated among the members of an English-speaking family with a hereditary disorder of language. The possible reasons for this disorder are discussed, and some aspects of the disorder are characterized and explained. Results, in conjunction with findings from previous studies of past…

Proposes that different contexts occur in second-language (L2) classrooms and that repair is organized differently within each context. Suggests that within each context a particular pedagogical focus combines with a particular organization of repair that is appropriate to that focus. The organization of repair within each context is sketched and…

Argues that oral grammar correction in second-language classrooms produces overwhelming problems both in making corrections and dealing with their harmful side effects, and that the practice should be discontinued. Research evidence suggests that oral correction does not improve learners' ability to speak grammatically, and no good reasons have…

Comparison of the moribund dialects of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, and Smith Island, Maryland, demonstrates that valuable insight into the patterning of variation and change in language death can be obtained by investigating moribund varieties of healthy languages. Discusses comparative investigation of two kinds of linguistic decay:…

Argues that the history of punctuation in the English-speaking world offers tangible evidence for the evolving interplay between speech and writing. (Author/VWL)

Investigated the role of context constraints on the course of predictive inferences during reading. Constraints were determined by manipulations of a context sentence that affected the extent to which an event was predictable. (Author/VWL)

Discusses how speech-language pathologists can use photography to encourage more active language expression in children with language and learning disabilities, and describes seven categories for photography use in language learning environments. Each photo project includes suggested language objectives, applications, and advantages. (Author/CR)

Examines whether storybook exposure and the amount of teaching in reading and writing skills reported by middle-class parents were related to oral language skills and written language skills of kindergarten children. Shows that storybook exposure explained statistically significant unique variance in children's oral language skills but not in…

Circumlocution can prevent communication breakdown and is a required function at the Advanced level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Scale. To encourage this communicative strategy, researchers conducted a study of two intermediate college French classes: one that encouraged circumlocution and…

Examined whether infants imitate the vocal pitch characteristics of adult caregivers and differentially adjust their vocal pitch or fundamental frequency toward that of their caregivers. Data are presented from a longitudinal case study of an infant recorded over several months, interacting with each parent. The infant did not demonstrate…

The dequeismo phenomenon is occurring more frequently in spoken Spanish in both Spain and in Latin America. Introduction of the preposition "de" before "que" in nominal complements exploits one recourse in Spanish, namely the deictic capacity of prepositional "de" as a marker or introducer of the speaker's…