Presents evidence that /u/-fronting, a sound change observable in California Anglo speakers is found in the majority Mexican-American community as well, among Chicano speakers of English. Results of the study underscore the need to analyze variation within the context of those social categories that are of particular significance to the specific…

Examined accentuation patterns that appear in Japanese adaptation of French words. Argues that these patterns reflect the default accentuation of Japanese grammar; they correspond to accent patterns found in some marginal sectors of Japanese vocabulary where the accent is predictable. (Author/VWL)

This study uses the technique of electropalatography to investigate lingualpalatal contact patterns during the production of the consonants /t, k, s, x, n, l, / by four Greek speakers with profound hearing impairment and with differences in the intelligibility of their speech. The study provides a detailed description of their tongue-palate…

This article offers a response to the comments and claims made in Jennifer Jenkins' article, "The spread of English as an International Language: a testing time for testers." It examines some assumptions underpinning her views and responds to claims about current policy and practice in English language testing. It goes on to explain the key…

Kachru (1988) and Sridhar and Sridhar (1992) argue that the spread of English as a world language increases the types of context in which English is learnt today. The sociolinguistic realities of world Englishes learners today challenge the validity of some second-language acquisition theories. One of the theoretical limitations of existing…

All languages encode aspects of culture and every culture has its own specificities to be proud of and to be transmitted. The papers in this book explore aspects of this relationship between language and culture, considering issues related to the processes of internationalization and localization of the English language. The volume is divided into…

A study investigated patterns in plural marking in the English spoken in Hong Kong, largely as a second language. It focused on the effect of three types of prenominal morphemes: (1) those that are neutral with respect to plurality (e.g., "other, certain"); (2) modifiers indicating the noun should be marked for plural (e.g., "one of…

In order to empirically examine the claim that sign language varieties in Hong Kong developed partially from sign language varieties in Shanghai, this paper examines the intuitive judgements of Hong kong signers about the similarities and difference in basic vocabulary items in sign language varieties in Shanghai and in Hong Kong. Specifically,…

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a number of syntactic phenomena in modern English, specifically but not exclusively in British English, that can be characterized as urban/suburban near-standard usage. These phenomena are representative of a type of feature that has to date received relatively little attention from linguists. One…

This brochure discusses, in lay terms, how computers process language and why they may have difficulty in processing English. The brochure points out that English is a more difficult language to process than most people think, and that the brain is far more complex than the computer in its ability to decipher meaning. The examples of the word…

This investigation focuses on syllable boundary demarcation in Hualapai and Havasupai, both native American Indian languages spoken in Northern Arizona. In an attempt to understand better the nature of the syllable, allophonic variation with respect to syllable position is examined. Cross-linguistic evidence suggests that sounds may take on…

The characteristics of the standard and non-standard varieties of English as spoken as a first language in Britain are discussed. The discussion focuses on 20 comparisons made between the standard and non-standard varieties. It is suggested that many of the local forms of English and the international standard English constitute a potential…

This paper highlights a new approach to the topic of language consciousness. Although a good deal has already been learned about the topic in connection with such questions as: "When and among whom does language consciousness arise?"; "When is it stronger and when is it weaker?"; and "What does it lead its adherents to do…

A dictionary of Mandarin Chinese verbs and adjectives, a companion to a Mandarin grammar, is intended as an extensive teaching lexicon of a major Chinese word class. It catalogues 4,500 words and combinations, with instructions in the proper and various applications of each item through linguistic explanations and illustrative sentences when…

Demonstrates that prior to the beginning of the prescriptive grammar movement in English, singular "they" was accepted. By analogy with socially motivated changes in second person pronouns in various European languages, it is suggested that third person pronoun usage will be affected by current feminist opposition to sex-indefinite "he."…