Based on research conducted in Oakland, California, between 1965 and 1967, this dissertation explores some aspects of language behavior in a black working-class community. Chapter 1 deals with selected features of the code which serve to differentiate the speech community from others and compares the findings of the present study with those of…

This paper proposes that the personal theme is a solution to the problem of motivating high school students to write better. The author, a high school English teacher, found that his students wrote poorly because they were writing on topics of which they had no intimate knowledge and because the theme assignments pleased the teacher, not the…

This document provides a description of the Foochow dialect of Chinese. Introductory remarks concern the geographical area of the dialect and previous analysis. The phonological description includes statements on syllable structure, initial consonants, finals, tones, changed tones, combinations of initials, finals, and tones, and syllables in…

This document provides a description of the Tai-shan dialect of Chinese. Maps illustrate the area where the dialect is spoken, and introductory remarks concern previous study of the dialect, sources of current information, and relationship to other dialects. The phonological description provides information on syllable structure, initials, finals,…

Writing samples representing argumentation, exposition, narration, and description were gathered from 51 fifth-grade pupils. Significant differences were found among the four modes of writing and among high-, medium-, and low-ability groups for T-unit length, clauses per T-unit, and clause length. Argumentation produced the most complex writing,…

Interviews with Arkansas fourth, fifth, and sixth graders revealed a blatant contradiction between the objectives of the language arts curricula and the children's opinions about the appropriateness of their language. While the students uniformly regarded their own dialects as satisfactory and unchanged by school, when questioned specifically…

A general model of the uses of symbolic systems is defined in terms of the use of two techniques of symbolization: transactional and presentational. These techniques in turn are shown to relate to underlying modes of experience, which Susanne Langer has discussed as objective and subjective feeling, respectively. The second half of the paper…

After discussing the relatively recent nature of research on women's language, and the lack of an integrating framework for such research, the studies in this field are reviewed. Specific topics considered include the use of standard or prestige forms, phonology, syntax, lexicon, discourse-level rules and usages, and attitudes toward women's…

The sex of college freshmen theme writers was identified by analyzing subject matter clues. A sample of 60 descriptive themes was selected for study; half were written by females and half by males. A panel of five female and five male English teachers read the themes and indicated the sex they thought the writers to be as well as the reasons for…

Calls for a language-centered view of composition instruction, illustrating that view by comparing and contrasting two recently published books about teaching composition. (RL)

Describes a successful unit on language that involved having students describe a specialized use of language they had personally experienced. (DD)

Challenges the descriptive linguist to tackle the problem of Educated Spoken Arabic and its regional varieties, in particular in regard to aspect and the participle. (AM)

Describes the phonology, grammar and semantics of Technical English in India. Interference from the mother tongue and from Common English is also discussed. (KM)

Before asking how to teach French, one should ask what French to teach. It is suggested that everyday French, "la langue usuelle," should be the norm for American teachers and textbook writers and editers. Greater utilization of film scenarios and songs of good quality are among the means suggested. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Examination of the phonological acquisition of a young girl whose parents spoke two Cantonese dialects indicated that she acquired neither parents' dialect, supporting the claim that children use all available input in acquiring language rather than limiting themselves to a primary language model. (Author/CB)