Urges education to help students learn through conceptual thinking. States that the first step must be to teach the subtleties of words--without a command of the language, important discriminations can be confused. Asserts that if students are to think well conceptually, surface language must dissolve, and alternative ways to communicate must be…

Analyzes the discourse of radio personality Rush Limbaugh, pointing out that he uses the following rhetorical strategies to deliver his political message: anecdotes, stories, and metaphors; double bind; contingency; rapport; authority; humor; emotional words; pacing; questions; missing words; and absolutes. (PA)

Argues that, for writers of color at all ages, there is always a conflict--a standard, literary language is in constant conflict with the language that carries a nation's languages, dialects, and cultures. (RS)

Factors responsible for the language policy of the Catholic Church include the need for uniformity and integrity of doctrine and the need for the worshipping community to have access to the meaning of the words of the liturgy. At times, liturgical theology and political needs of the church have promoted the need for uniformity over the need for…

Examines the language of the underworld, a language that includes slang spoken in prisons. This language functions not so much as a secret code whose primary purpose is to deceive but as a means by which members share an identity. Such speech fosters group solidarity, mutual recognition, prestige, and a sense of exclusiveness. (25 references) (CK)

Presents three studies that provide a test of gender-as-culture, or "two cultures," hypothesis proposed by Maltz and Borker (1982) to explain male/female differences in language use. Finds that gender preferences for language use among undergraduate students function in ways that are consistent with stylistic preferences that distinguish national…

Structured interviews were conducted with bilingual educators in Southern New Mexico/West Texas. to determine these professionals' attitudes toward Spanish and English and to identify their public and private uses of both languages. Results indicate that while the educators continue to hold Spanish in high regard, their use in both public and…

The six chapters of this issue consider how language shapes the meaning of social policies and programs that are evaluated. Offers interdisciplinary perspectives on these language issues and highlights the practical issues involved in language function in evaluation. (SLD)

Argues that the prohibition against the comma splice has no logical basis whatsoever, and offers numerous examples. Maintains that English teachers should relax prohibitions against comma splices, accept that usage is flexible, and allow students a freedom which more confident writers take for granted. (SR)

Discusses situations in which mother-tongue education may not be desirable. Separate sections discuss language in education systems, multilingual settings, mother-tongue education in the "Cosmopolis," determining the mother tongue, definition of a language, social and ethnic divisiveness of mother-tongue education. The final section…

Notes that one way to expose students to the problems associated with profanity is to tie the exploration and discussion of the issue to the persuasive writing assignment that is common in many undergraduate business communication courses. Presents a discussion of such an assignment. (SG)

Considers the ways in which two late 19th-century American Indian intellectuals, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins and Charles Alexander Eastman, use the discourses about Indian-ness that circulated during that time period in order to both respond to that discourse and to reimagine what it could mean to be Indian. Argues that this "use" is a critical…

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)

Explores the intersection of poet William Stafford, the poet in each child, and poetry. Discusses influences of Stafford on the author during her academic training and subsequent academic career. Notes Stafford left behind a vision of the world, a way of thinking about the process of writing, and a respect for the writer that is each child as…

Suggests the best way to help high school students write poetry is to bring them to memories that would stimulate the expression of everything more intensely. Describes four workshops that appeal to the senses: scent writing, taste writing, music writing, and sight writing. (RS)