It has usually been psycholinguistics which has accommodated itself to alterations within linguistic formulations, but now there is a growing independence on the part of many psychologists in the study of language. The shift in emphasis is from competence to performance. (POP)

This article examines research done in Switzerland on languages in contact, and concludes that the limited amount of such research is due to the fact that the various languages spoken in Switzerland are spoken in adjacent areas in which bilingualism is rare. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

J. L. Dillard's contention that Black English is a language unto itself spoken by 80 percent of American blacks is argued by a black professor of English who notes the correlation between an individual's destiny in competitive American society and that individual's destiny in competitive American society and that individual's powers of…

The author explores positive and negative functions of euphemisms in educational writings and concludes that they are necessary at times since complete clarity and certainty are unattainable. (GW)

Shows that using the German "tust du malen?" to teach the English construction "do you (paint, etc.)?" is wrong; the construction can also mean "are you painting?" So "tust du --?" fits only those English verbs which never use progressive tense forms. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

This paper explores how one facet of the process by which ideology about linguistic variation originates and circulates. It analyzes an archive consisting of newspaper articles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about Pittsburgh speech, the earliest of which is from 1910. The articles began appearing regularly during the 1950s-60s. First, the paper…

Providing grades 4-6 students with practice and reinforcement in editing for capitalization, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, usage, and content, this computer software program contains over 30 written accounts that have been sequenced from easier to more difficult. The program has 3 levels of play: beginning, intermediate, and advanced. At each…

This book describes work that has been done with verbally impaired individuals (autism, brain surgery, Down's Syndrome) who are unable to use language to convey even the simplest idea. The book points out that such people are not necessarily strangers to language, they just have not found a way to express themselves. The work discussed in the book…

This book traces the development of speech from a time when the spiritual roots of words were still experienced, down to the present day when words are in danger of being little else than 'bits' of information. The book illustrates the origins of everyday words and names and traces the use of words through history. It shows how certain sounds…

Noting that good writing is good business, this book offers 35 practical techniques that foster simplicity, conciseness, and emphasis. The book discusses how to: (1) write with verbs instead of nouns; (2) decide when to use active versus passive constructions; (3) recognize wordy phrases and redundant expressions; (4) distinguish the uses of…

This study analyzed the size and characteristics of monolingual and bilingual workers, using the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey, which contains questions on English language Usage, second language usage, and language proficiencies. Interviews with a nationally representative sample of the U.S. adult population (in English or Spanish)…

Noun phrases are often used in academic writing to express the abstract character of the topics discussed. Nouns, especially nominalizations, make it possible to express complicated ideas in a condensed and compact manner, whereas the corresponding verbs make texts easier to understand and more dynamic. In this paper, a case study is presented…

Contemporary Pacific literature represents one of many bodies of new literatures written in English that have emerged from cultures of former colonies of European empires (contact literatures). They contain a blend of two or more linguistic contexts and a range of discourse devices and cultural assumptions distinct from the ones associated with…

This paper discusses the protection of linguistic rights, focusing on the constitutional and legal experience in Europe. It addresses state plurilingualism, then examines general principles (the legal status of languages, equality, and multilingualism in representative institutions). Next, it discusses recognition of linguistic rights (the right…

This paper contends that anyone who teaches English or who wants to write or publish must be sensitive to the issue of gender equity in language, whether in the use of police officers, not policemen, flight attendants, not stewardesses, or the exclusive use of the masculine pronoun, which was the standard years ago. Writers can avoid gender bias…