An ongoing research project into the dissolution or attrition of native language structure under the influence of bilingualism analyzed certain paradigmatic changes in the first language of a Hungarian-Hebrew bilingual speaker. Data were collected over a 2-year period from an Israeli woman who was born in Hungary and immigrated to Israel at 6…

Student papers presented at a sociolinguistics conference include: "La variation phonologique [d'une voyelle] a Hull"; "La force illocutoire des pronoms personnels 'je' et 'tu' en tant qu'insignes des places d'ou parlent les femmes et les hommes"; "L'emploi des modes indicatif et subjonctif dans le francais parle de la…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 13 titles deal with the following topics: (1) maximum likelihood multivariate statistical analysis in human communication research; (2) sense, expression, and purpose in Alexander Campbell's natural philosophy of rhetoric; (3)…

Parallel studies at universities in Israel, Finland, Canada, and the United States used a "selected deletion gap-filling test," a variation on the cloze procedure designed to measure reading comprehension by testing the reader's familiarity with cohesive links and grasp of text coherence. The test design responded to the growing demand for a more…

A study analyzed language-related and non-language-related textbooks used in India's secondary schools for compatibility of content across related curricular areas. The textbooks prescribed for standards 5 and 6 in Kannada, Hindi, and English for both State and Central school systems were analyzed. Language texts were analyzed for linguistic,…

A study was conducted to explore the language or discourse of the administrative assistant in an effort to gain insight into the development of the superior/subordinate relationship. The study also explored differences in gender-based behavioral expectations identified through a content analysis of administrative assistants' messages. The…

In their new roles as congressmen after the Civil War, blacks, for the first time in American history, advanced views of civil rights that reflected black perspectives. One scheme for analyzing black rhetoric suggests that black congressmen did not share the perspective held by many whites--that blacks were inept individuals. Rather, the black…

A collection of papers on the profession of teaching English for special purposes includes: "Scenes of Endless Science: ESP and Education" (A. Crocker); "Some Problems of a World-Wide Profession" (T. Johns); "The EST Teacher: A Negative View" (G. Greenall); "The Helpful EST Teacher" (W. Robinson); "A Way Forward: A Fusion of Two Cultures" (M.…

This paper contends that children's failure to demonstrate predictable gains in reading ability may be attributable to the failure of the teaching program to focus on strategies involving larger and larger chunking of the language accesses. Teaching programs in reading should be constructed to develop middle-level reading skills. Such programs…

Concentration on the formal features of language and on developing speaking skills in a second language fails to provide the language student with the necessary level of conversational ability. The concept of communicative competence has resulted in a new emphasis on the nature of interaction and the rules of discourse. Interest has shifted from…

The assumption that question-answer sequences consist of two moves was examined using data from recordings of second-grade classrooms in Austin, Texas. Interactions initiated by children's spontaneous questions in informal, small group settings were evaluated. Twenty-nine dialogue samples are presented and analyzed. Four issues in the study of…

This report is one of a regular series on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Drawn from the period of January 1 to March 31, 1980, the 14 manuscripts cover the following topics: (1) acoustics in human communication; (2) motor-sensory feedback formulations;…

Foreigner talk (FT) is the term used to characterize possible adjustments in the speech of a native speaker (NS) when he or she is in conversation with a non-native speaker (NNS). The paper examines conversations between 6 native speakers and 3 non-native speakers and characterizes the speech of the native-speakers involved. The data were…

Talk is proposed as the subject matter of foreign language courses. The key to acquiring liberated expression lies in the assimilation of the learner to the target culture. Once he/she is assimilated, the learner's involvement in a situation matches the involvement of natives of the target culture. For example, faced with some life circumstance…

A one-year project to explore the use of children's language served as a basis for staff development through the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation. Children's conversations among themselves were observed and recorded within the classroom setting, and the content of the observations were used for planning curriculum and assessing children's…