Six working papers on phonology, primarily concerning less commonly taught languages, are presented are in this volume. Titles include: "Non-Uniqueness Condition and the Segmentation of the Chinese Syllable" (Benjamin Ao); "Theoretical Consequences of Metathesis in Maltese" (Elizabeth Hume); "Cs and Vs or Moras: The Case…

This paper explores the features of rhythm that make English difficult for speakers of Chinese and suggests some techniques for helping students speak English with an English rhythm. The focus is on information obtained during a workshop: the rhythmic differences between Chinese and English, word rhythm in English, and sentence rhythm in English.…

An analysis of verbs in Tlingit, a U.S. Northwest Coast Indian language, begins with an overview of its situation and usage and of previous research. The second chapter sketches its phonological and syntactic characteristics. Subsequent chapters deal specifically with the verb. An analysis of verb categories distinguishes two groups: argumental…

Papers in various aspects of phonological research and theory include: "One-Step Raising in Gbanu" (Mary Bradshaw); "ATR Harmony in Konni" (Mike Cahill); "Prosodic Structure in SiSwati" (Rebecca Herman); "The Deletion of /w/ in Seoul Korean and Its Implications" (Hyeon-Seok Kang); "Tense, Aspect, and…

In a study with seventh- and eighth-graders, Spanish-English bilinguals (n=41) and English monolinguals (n=48) used brief English contexts to choose among possible meanings for unfamiliar words. Two types of errors were compared: transfer errors, which were answers consistent with Spanish but not English syntax, and non-transfer errors, which were…

A study of two contemporary American novels, told in first-person narration, explored the distribution and function of relative clauses in literary narrative. For comparative purposes, data from oral conversation, 2 written expository works, 6 other novels, and 20 short oral narratives were also considered. Three types of relative clause are…

A study investigated the role of the interpreter in doctor-patient communication by analyzing four complete medical interviews at a large urban hospital, each involving one of two Russian interpreters on staff. Both interpreters were native Russian speakers recently immigrated to the United States. Patients were middle-aged and elderly immigrants…

An approach to teaching expository writing in English as a Second Language (ESL) to native speakers of Chinese is offered. It is based on a comparison and classification of rhetorical patterns in the two languages. Chinese rhetoric contains a wide variety of methods of presentation, including both direct and indirect, or metaphoric, forms. It is…

The grammar of the St. Lawrence Island/Siberian Yupik Eskimo language was written for college-level classes containing a mixture of Yupik speakers and non-speakers, and for students learning the language on their own. It uses only the Central Siberian Yupik dialect spoken on St. Lawrence Island (Alaska) and on a small portion of the Asian…

A study investigated the ways in which native and non-native speakers of Kiswahili close conversations. Native speaker data were obtained from observation and field notes, recorded face-to-face interactions, recorded telephone conversations, reconstructed dialogues, and televised plays. Non-native speaker (American) data were drawn from role-play…

An ethnographic and linguistic study conducted at a high-technology corporation examined decision-making in managerial meetings, focusing on the effects of silences following a proposal on the maker of the proposal. An opinion is that such silences signify a negative evaluation of the proposal, inviting the proposal maker to alter his position.…

This dictionary is designed to provide students with the Gwich'in equivalents of common conversational English words and phrases, and is intended for use in bilingual classrooms. Gwich'in is an Athabaskan language spoken in several villages in Alaska. An introductory section provides background information on Gwich' in orthography and phonology,…

An analysis of the use of language in a social service context using microethnographic research techniques is described. The study examined a single interaction between a welfare caseworker and a client as they address the client's employment and educational options. The interaction was videotaped and a segment of just over a minute was analyzed…

The Whorfian Hypothesis, which states that the structure of one's language influences the understanding of reality, is examined in relation to the Chinese language and culture and to the English language and American culture. Examples supporting the Whorfian Hypothesis are offered in language relating to personal relationships. Research on the…

In Canada there exists a need to prepare the teaching force, which is primarily monocultural and monolingual, to work with an increasingly ethnoculturally diverse student population. This paper defines the term "ethnocultural," and presents three dimensions of ethnocultural knowledge that are essential to the ongoing professional and…