This paper explores the process of writing from several perspectives, as a first step toward a more comprehensive theory. The first perspective sees writing as a communicative act. The observation that to write is to communicate, though commonplace, has major and sometimes surprising implications for a theory of writing. It forces a focus on the…

The four essays in this book are concerned with the cultural consequences of literacy in that they demonstrate that some forms of competence, highly valued in society, developed in large part as an unintended consequence of the Greek alphabetic writing system. The first essay, entitled "Spoken Sound and Inscribed Sign," discusses the…

The purpose of this study was to compare mature readers' comprehension of text presented in traditional orthography with their comprehension of text presented in a regularized orthography, specifically, to determine whether, when traditional orthography is regularized, any loss of meaning is attributable to the loss of the visual dissimilarity of…

With increasing enrollments in journalism, many journalism instructors contend that problems of spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation are particularly acute. Some of the questions raised at recent gatherings include: Are formal rules of English grammar dying? Is proper punctuation mere pedantry? What can journalism schools do about grammar and…

Mode of presentation (word vs. picture) is said to be a factor in social class differences in performance on analogy tests. To investigate this contention, data were needed on equivalent word and picture analogy test performance. This report presents data on relation education index (REI) norms for 500 picture pairs collected in the process of…

In this discussion of the reading problems of American Negro dialect speakers at intermediate grade level, the author uses the term "Public Language," because although it is not ideally satisfactory, it is free from the evaluative connotations of "Standard" English and directs attention away from distinctions of race or social class. Since the…

This book, geared particularly toward beginning college and university students, treats style within the framework of general language variation, the discussion focusing chiefly on linguistic differences (both written and spoken) observed in everyday life, rather than on those found in poetry and belles lettres. The discussion is divided between…

A case against using traditional orthography (T.O.) as a learning medium and in favor of using the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) is presented. The following points were noted: (1) Most children are taught to read as we and our ancestors before us were by an alphabet which is at least 1,000 years old and took its form from the convenience and…

The "virtues" and "defects" of both present English spelling patterns and proposed spelling reforms are examined in this article. In lieu of reform, the author proposes that new spellings be accepted as the demand is overwhelmingly felt. An enumerated series of observations deals largely with phonetic and spelling interrelationships. (RL)

Discusses the popularization of Putonghua, the common language of the People's Republic of China, and the creation and popularization of a national phonetic alphabet. These two issues are related by the fact that romanization is seen as an important vehicle for the popularization of Putonghua. (CLK)

Investigated three aspects of children's early language knowledge: (1) comparison of preschoolers response to written stimuli in familiar environmental contexts (on signs and billboards) with responses presented in a traditional reading task format; (2) developmental changes in preschoolers' knowledge of written language; and (3) preschoolers'…

Reviews the evidence for alternative explanations of the underlying system of English orthography and discusses their feasibility as a basis for teaching young beginners. (HOD)

Based on travel to the People's Republic of China, language changes and reform are reported. New meanings of old expressions and new expressions are listed and discussed. Language reform consists of: popularization of Putonghua, simplification of the characters, and romanization of the Chinese Language. (SW)

Stresses that effective writing instruction cannot be taught within the confines of a single college or university course but must be a shared commitment and responsibility on the part of the entire faculty. (MH)

Within the framework of modern language teaching objectives, an inventory is presented of various socio-cultural activities in which written communication plays a key role. Writing is typed according to the situation. The status of written language is assessed from the aspect of multilingualism and of diglossia. (Text is in French.) (AMH)