Results of a Hong Kong survey, described in an earlier report, are summarized here. The study investigated the English vocabulary size of native-speaking adults (n=78), non-English native-speaking adults--Chinese (n=20), and non-English native Chinese-Speaking non-Chinese (n=9). The vocabulary used reflected British rather than American English…

Papers on phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics from a conference on formal linguistics include: "Major Class Alternations" (Young-Mee Yu Cho, S. Inkelas); "On Defining Complex Templates (R. Kager); "Sandhi and Syllables in Classical Sanskrit" (B. Kessler); "Catalexis in Word Stress: Evidence from Spanish and…

Discussion of speech instruction in bilingual education for deaf children refutes the assumption that speech is acquired automatically by hearing children and examines a program in which deaf children are taught alongside hearing children. The first part looks at how speech functions and how children acquire it: including the nature of the…

This study investigated the utility and effectiveness of a simple dictation test for placement of students in a university's summer English-as-a-Second-Language program. The dictation test was explored as an alternative to the traditional oral interview, which had shown some problems of interrater reliability and consistency, resulting in…

A project to identify alternative strategies for assessing the academic language of English language learners is reported. First, literature on the concept of academic language is reviewed, and then findings from classroom research are used to propose an alternative conceptualization of academic language, one which focuses on the role of stylistic…

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is argued that more emphasis needs to be given to the neglected skills of listening comprehension, since most training in oral communication at the secondary and college level focuses on effective speaking. The paper outlines…

Four issues of this journal contain articles, dissertation abstracts, reviews, remarks and rejoinders, conference reports, and announcements of publications and professional matters relating to linguistics and language research. The substantive articles contained in these issues include: "FIESTA--A Linguistics Text Tool" (E. Clay Johnston);…

A study conducted in the English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) class of 11 Southeast Asian refugee parents of several nationalities and language groups investigated changes in the parents' relationships with their children through four months of the acculturation process, focusing on the strategies the parents used to guide and assist their children…

Research by the staff and advanced students of the North Dakota Summer Institute of Linguistics is presented. In "Verb Agreement and Case Marking in Burushaski" (Stephen R. Willson), an overview of Burushaski morphology and syntax is presented, with special attention to verb agreement and case marking. "A Backwards Binding Construction in Zapotec"…

The roles that pragmatics can play in the development of communicative competence are discussed, and three uses are examined in greater detail, with examples offered: (1) for the refinement of the study of speech acts as they occur in different cultures; (2) to help determine the extent to which explicit instruction can increase the rate at which…

Discussion of one form of pragmatic competence, projecting a sense of stylistic voice into texts, explores how writing in a non-native language affects the ability to express stylistic voice and enter into social dialogue with readers. Using the published reflections of authors writing professionally in a non-native language, the analysis shows…

This paper argues that the ways of speaking characteristic of a given speech-community cannot be satisfactorily described or explained in purely behavioral terms, that they constitute a behavioral manifestation of a tacit system of cultural rules or scripts, and that to understand a society's ways of speaking, it is necessary to identify and…

A comparative study of turn-taking in North American and Spanish conversation investigated (1) differences in styles for the two cultures and (2) any resulting misinterpretation of communicative intentions. Data for the first were drawn from two dinner parties, one with four American women, conducted in English, and one with four Spanish-speaking…

Second language tests claiming to assess communicative competence are widespread, despite the vague nature of the construct. Sociolinguistic or intercultural competence is gradually gaining attention in the classroom, but testing has not kept pace, partly because of difficulty in defining the related skills. An opinion is that speech act theory…

This study analyzed audio recordings of authentic business negotiations carried out by native speakers of English in British companies. Analysis focuses on the roles of buyer and seller, with special emphasis on the inherent power differential caused by the reality of the business transaction and the pragmatics of the business relationship. In…