The connection between Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) and literature is discussed with examples of technical vocabulary drawn from a variety of writers, with particular attention to a sketch by the British dramatist Harold Pinter, "Trouble in the Works," which makes extensive use of the terminology of machine parts. It is noted…

The practice of "chismeando" (gossiping, in Spanish) is examined as it is defined and engaged in by a group of women from the Dominican Republic. It is argued that the stories told in chismeando are repositories of sociocultural knowledge. Women's participation in the practice provides the women with a framework for understanding and…

The relationship between oral language and academic success as a rationale for the study of narrative structures is discussed in order to determine Northern Ute children's acquisition of "school language" structures. In addition, this paper compares hypotheses concerning the expected linguistic behavior of Northern Ute children in…

A discussion of the use of Japanese in the English language classroom in Japan proposes that whatever justification is given for the English-only classroom is based on two flawed arguments: (1) outright rejection of the traditional grammar-translation method; and (2) the false assumption that an English-only requirement is an essential element of…

This study examined the way medical clinicians speak about numbers in orally presenting the results of research. Presentations by a sample of eight physicians and surgeons were selected and the manner in which numerical data on the slides were referred to was analyzed. Overall in the sample, it was four times more common to speak about data on…

This atlas of language vitality in China covers the majority Han (Mandarin) language and 59 officially recognized minority languages. The first section, on the Han language, gives a breakdown of its oral and written vitality overall and for eight domains (religion, schools, mass media, administration, courts, legislature, manufacturing industries,…

This paper outlines the suggested steps to improve the language usage of a teacher about whom a school principal has received complaints from parents concerning her poor grammar. It first suggests that the principal observe the teacher to verify the parents' concerns. The paper then lists 10 ideas for the principal to suggest to help the teacher…

A study examined the attitudes of English educators and professional business persons concerning non-standard English-language usage. Subjects, equal numbers of male and female members of the National Council of Teachers of English and members of the Chamber of Commerce, responded to a questionnaire containing 66 sentences, each containing an…

Research on adult second-language (L2) learner's self-repair is reported. Repairs are defined as "structure shifts," which are types of correction or improvement where the speaker leaves a structure uncompleted, abandoning it or shifting to another structure. Two principal types of repairs are distinguished: code- and discourse-related…

This conference focused on critical thinking, language, and inquiry across the disciplines through the perspectives of scholars and practitioners within a variety of academic disciplines. This volume reflects the thoughts of 48 authors representing 20 academic fields; it is divided into two main parts. The first part is composed of papers that…

Part of a series designed to provide young people with home resource books, and intended for students in the middle and upper grades, this book can be used to find quick answers to questions about the use of the English language, to gain a better understanding of sentence structure, and to study or review a grammatical principle. Chapters in the…

The atlas offers a cartography of language functions, quantitatively measured in vitality rates, for Western Europe. The atlas has three parts: vitality by language; vitality by domain; and vitality by country. Eighty-three minority languages are covered. Domains considered include: global; religion; schools; mass media; administration; courts;…

While few business people dispute the importance of carefully crafting persuasive, demanding, conciliatory, and bad-news letters, the regular flow of routine communications receives very little meaningful consideration or scrutiny. These routine communications (letters, inquiries, requests, collection letters, complaints, confirmations,…

This study examined the ways in which teachers of English as a second language (ESL) perceive the semantic and syntactic constraints that govern word use and the strategies they use to explain lexical anomalies to students. Twelve native speaking ESL teachers from 2 university-level intensive English programs were asked to identify, categorize,…

A case study analyzed the function of language (how language was being used and for what purposes) in a composition classroom from a systemic linguistic perspective. The subject was a young woman of Iranian-Macedonian descent and the researcher was the subject's composition teacher. The study focused on the subject's use of metaphor in relation to…