Demonstrates the specific ways in which the influence of Chinese manifests itself in the structure of the noun phrases containing relative-clause modifiers in colloquial Singapore English. Argues that while previous researchers have been correct in pointing out the substratal influence of Chinese, they have not gone far enough in articulating the…

Part of a large-scale study on variation in American Sign Language, this article examines variation in the form of the sign DEAF, which can be produced by moving the forefinger from ear to chin, from chin to ear, or by contacting the lower cheek. Multivariate analysis of more than 1600 tokens of DEAF extracted from sociolinguistic interviews shows…

Highlights modes of evidence in large corpus research that may be significant for Sociolinguistics. Suggests that corpus data can help Sociolinguistics engage with issues and variations in usage that are less abstract then phonetics, phonology, and grammar but more proximate to the socially vital issues of the 20th century. (Author/VWL)

Tests hypotheses from the model for contact-induced language change as formulated in Thomason and Kaufman (1998) and Thomason (1998). The model correctly predicts the asymmetries between the mutual influences of the Germanic and Romance varieties in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France, making it a very powerful tool for describing the…

Summarizes a keynote address that tested hypotheses from the model for contact-induced language change as formulated in Thomason and Kaufman (1998) and Thomason (1998). The model correctly predicts the asymmetries between the mutual influences of the Germanic and Romance varieties in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France, making it a very…

Seven peer commentaries are provided in response to a paper that tested hypotheses from a model for contact-induced language change as formulated in Thomason and Kaufman (1998) and Thomason (1998). The model correctly predicts asymmetries between mutual influences of Germanic and Romance varieties in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France,…

Responds to peer commentaries written in response to a paper examining the model for contact-induced language change as formulated in Thomason and Kaufman (1998) and Thomason (1998). The model correctly predicts asymmetries between mutual influences of Germanic and Romance varieties in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France, making it a very…

Considers the socio-stylistic distinction of the French variable morpho-syntactic particle "ne." The interspeaker axes of variation in "ne" are summarized, and intraspeaker data deriving from a corpus of spoken French are considered. Examines intraspeaker variation in "ne" by focusing on the use of the variable by a single speaker in both speech…

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the variation underlying subject-verb agreement in the spoken French interlanguage of Irish classroom and study abroad learners. Results outline the range of factors constraining that variation, such as the learners' level of informal contact with the language, as well as linguistic factors such as…

It is unfortunate that Wee's commendable effort (2005) to explore the theoretical underpinning of Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs) so as to explore different variants of English in Singapore empirically is marred by a substantial number of misrepresentations of what is stated in our work. We will exemplify this briefly, and otherwise refer the…

This paper presents a practical research guide to world English, with particular emphasis on comparative studies of varieties of English. Part I is a select bibliography of journal articles, books, and book chapters relating to comparative studies of English dating from 1992 to 2002. Part II lists the journals included in Part I, and includes…

The problem of recognizing phonological variations in the speech input has triggered numerous treatments in speech processing models. Two areas of current controversy are the possibility of phonological underspecification in the mental lexicon and the nature of the mapping mechanism from the speech signal to the abstract lexical entry. We present…

Creating compound nouns is the most productive process of Dutch morphology, with an interesting pattern of form variation. For instance, "staat" "nation" simply combines with "kunde" "art" ("staatkunde" "political science, statesmanship"), but needs a linking element "s" or…

This pilot project investigates second language (L2) learners' attitudes towards three varieties of English: American (AmE), British (BrE) and Australian (AuE). A 69-word passage spoken by a female speaker of each variety was used. Participants were 30 Chinese students pursuing Masters or Doctoral degrees in the United States, who listened to each…

Learning new languages potentially gives people vital skills to build more successful relationships, and understanding the social influences at work today may help us to know which type of language education is most beneficial. This article explores three social influences--globalisation, localisation and glocalisation--from the perspective of…