Investigates group differences in the use of language to request information in the conversational discourse of 39 children of 4-5 years. Membership in an ethnic group, social class, and situation affected speakers' displays of this function. (RJC)

Describes how journals can be used to explore students' perceptions of self and society. Analyzes ("deconstructs") student journal entries to examine the language used to express experiences, and notes that encouraging students to examine their own entries helps them find language that more closely coincides with their realities. (MM)

Reports on two sets of data on teachers' and children's use of male and female pronouns in two early childhood programs. Results support other findings that young children are socialized to see maleness as more important than femaleness. (PCB)

Traces the theoretical significance of using names as titles for situations, and applies this analysis to the United States' intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programs. Argues that the names given to ICBMs preserve their utility as weapons by linking them to the myths of the nineteenth-century western frontier. (MM)

Describes an exercise in which students learn to recognize cliches by locating them in a poem and generating them in a class discussion. Notes that by teaching students to recognize unimaginative and ineffective language in the work of other writers, they can learn to avoid it themselves. (MM)

Views the founding of the United States by analyzing key terms in its language in contexts provided by the history of early modern political discourse. Focuses on the transformation of the words "federative" and "federal." Concludes by examining the presidency as the monarchical component of an imperial republic. (Author/LS)

Discusses the importance of increasing effective communication in outdoor education programs. Examines sensory preferences and how they affect vocabulary, voice tone, and body language. Describes ways that outdoor educators can use this information to improve their communication skills. (LP)

States that "Generation X" refers to people born in the later 1960s and early 1970s who are young adults by the 1990s. Points out that many college students object to the term. Analyzes the Baby Boomers and Generation Xers in a search for comparisons. Concludes that there are more similarities than were previously thought. (PA)

Discusses the role of the English language in postcolonial African literature, focusing on the politics of language, "Africanized" English, and the social languages used in Chinua Achebe's novels and concludes that English today is as much an African language as a British or American one. (Contains 37 references.) (MDM)

Examines the background and nature of general English usage in Singapore, focusing on the speaking patterns of students whose native language is Chinese. Focuses on the influence of Chinese on the syntax and pronunciation of "Singlish." (MDM)

Examines the birth and evolution of Hawai'i Creole English (HCE), focusing on attempts to use HCE as a written language, particularly in the emerging genre of local literature and reviews the use of HCE in literary works from the 1930s to the present. (Contains 12 references.) (MDM)

Argues against the concept of a distinctive "Ghanaian English" and in favor of the view that various postcolonial nations share the same nonstandard usages. The article maintains that British Standard English is still the norm for educated Ghanaians. (Contains 16 references.) (MDM)

Calls for developing a more intimate relationship with nature and changing the language used to describe this new relationship. Current language usage results in a separation between humans and nature, with nature being delegated to an inferior position. Change will only be accomplished through altering our hierarchical construction of values. (LP)

Discusses the debate over whether to teach French in French or in English. The use of nonverbal methods, prereading vocabulary presentation, development of a set of signals and rituals, negotiating meaning, videotape use, and language modification to the learners' abilities in teaching French are highlighted. (Contains 16 references.) (CNP)

Discusses word order variation in the speech of adult and preschool speakers of French, focusing on the acquisition of French grammar by two-year olds. Preschool children were found to rely heavily on verb-complement-subject word order while avoiding verb-subject-complement constructions. Explanations for this phenomenon are considered. (82…