The materials included in this document concern the theory, objectives, and administrative issues behind the project to describe the languages of the world. The basic objective of the project is to collect a series of language descriptions which achieve an acceptable level of descriptive adequacy without interfering with the freedom of the…

Presents the results of research examining the argument that the use of a pidgin or creole will interfere with students' subsequent acquisition of the standard language. The study evaluated a preschool program in Papua New Guinea that uses Melanesian Pidgin English as the medium of instruction for students who later attend an English-medium…

This paper considers a number of diverse contexts in which English is learned as a second language and in which nonstandard dialects arise because of social and linguistic factors. The varieties considered here are immigrant English, indigenous-minority varieties of English, pidginization and creolization, local varieties of non-native English,…

The Pacific area is generally acknowledged to manifest great linguistic diversity. Such diversity is generally assumed to be dysfunctional, an obstacle to efficient functioning of society. Such diversity must, however, have its functions at least in the circumstances in which it arose. It is also generally assumed that such diversity is the result…

This is an annotated bibliography of basic tools of access for the study of the uncommonly taught European languages which are not national languages. It is one of eight fascicles which constitute a revision of "A Provisional Survey of Materials for the Study of the Neglected Languages" (CAL 1969). The focus is on materials for the…

Nine papers present either discussion of the issues or practical answers to the issues of nonstandard dialects, pidgins, and creoles in the classroom. They include: "The Case Against a Transfer Bilingual Program of Torres Strait Creole to English in Torres Strait Schools" (Anna Shnukal); "Summary: A Survey of Teachers' Attitudes…

A set of instructional materials for introductory Solomon Islands Pidgin, an English-based pidgin, is designed for Peace Corps volunteer language instruction. It consists of 12 units that contain dialogues, grammar and pronunciation notes, pattern and substitution drills, lists of vocabulary and useful expressions, and exercises based on the…

This collection of 24 papers focuses on language and society in South Africa. Part 1, "The Main Language Groupings," includes (1) "South Africa: A Sociolinguistic Overview" (R. Mesthrie); (2) "The Khoesan Languages" (A. Traill); (3) "The Bantu Languages: Sociohistorical Perspectives" (Robert K. Herbert and…

Fundamental issues in language policy and planning are discussed: language death, language survival, language change, language revival, language shift and expansion, language contact and pidginization or creolization, and literacy development. (Contains 21 references.) (LB)

A study explored the relevance of acculturation theory to language fossilization in the advanced stages of second language learning. Case studies of two native Japanese speakers with long experience living in an English-speaking environment are examined. First, the model of acculturation is outlined: it proposes that socio-psychological factors,…

This volume contains the proceedings of the symposium on African language, culture and society held at Ohio State University. Six of the papers deal with the related issues of language reform and language planning, including such aspects as the choice of national and official languages. They include both general proposals for theoretical models as…

This report is the result of a two-month study commissioned by the World Fertility Survey prior to the inclusion of Cameroon in the WFS program, in order to examine the problem of linguistic diversity and the obstacles this problem might pose to a demographic survey of the country. The study was to propose a strategy which would uphold the WFS…

In order to test whether certain structures characteristic of West African languages are also present in the Negro English dialect of Natchitoches Parich, Louisiana, 355 short autobiographical papers written by Negro high school students were analyzed. Another 355 papers written by white high school students were used as controls. The papers were…

Articles in Italian, English, French, and German address issues in minority languages and minority language groups. They include: "The Role of Italian in Some Changes in Walser Morphosyntax" (article in Italian); "Compensatory Linguistic Strategies in the Gradual Death Process of a Minority Language: Evidence from Some Dying…

Summarizes research on educational programs that use stigmatized varieties of English in the classroom, and reviews relevant theory and research in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition. Research on educational programs shows that using the stigmatized variety in formal education seems to have a positive effect on the acquisition of…