Describes the type of evidence a survey of the type being conducted by the C.C.T.E. might produce, and some of the uses for those results. (AN)

Describes major features of pronoun usage, verbs, and nouns in contemporary Gullah. Points out that most research on Black dialects has focused on northern inner city Black speech, and that this variety of Black English is different from the creole-based language patterns prevalent among Blacks in the southeastern United States. (GC)

Discusses the origins of Soviet sociolinguistics and suggests that the historical significance of the reception and reinterpretation of these ideas is considerable, leading to a reconsideration of the origins of sociolinguistics and the relationship between Marxism and the language sciences in the early years of the Soviet Union. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that, in some Fujian Southern Min dialects, the patterns VP-neg and Adv-VP are mutually exclusive, presenting data from Xiamen to show recent innovations in the yes-no question pattern. Describes this innovation, explaining how the origin of the innovative patterns and limitations on their further development are influenced by…

Explores problems involved in defining Black South African English, such as whether it is a new variety of English or a dialect and relating to whose English it is: the English of those learners who have encountered only a smattering of English in informal contexts or the variety of English acquired during formal schooling. (Author/VWL)

Approaches Middle English quantity changes as the consequence of the phonologization of a syllable cut prosody and provides new evidence for the relevance of syllable cut to the diachronic phonology of English. Evidence comes from partial reconstruction of Ihe phonological system of the early Middle English dialect presented in the "Ormulum,"…

Focuses on the most important problem translators are faced with when translating Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" into German: how can the speech of The African-American Jim be rendered? Examines both orthographic and other linguistic strategies that have been used to differentiate Jim's voice over the last hundred years. (Author/VWL)

Discusses research that demonstrates the theoretical and practical value of a dialect contact framewrk. Examines questions that can be addressed using the analytic and conceptual tools of this framework. (Author/VWL)

Traces across three generations the formation of a new dialect in Corby, Northamptonshire, a steel town in the English Midlands. Focuses on whether dialect levelling processes can account for the features of the new dialect formed by contact between the displaced Scottish and English inhabitants in the town. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the role that Sociolinguistics should play with respect to the Ebonics debate in the United States. Argues that the fundamental perspective Sociolinguistics has taken with respect to this issue is sound, namely that Ebonics like any other linguistic variety is just as rule-governed and systematic. (Author/VWL)

Until the 1880s, the language of instruction and that spoken by students was dictated by the culture of the community. Although public officials advised immigrants to use American English rather than their mother tongues, no legislation was enacted mandating English as the official language of education. However, with sizeable groups of immigrants…

This study investigated the effects of interference of a native dialect in the acquisition of a second dialect. Four groups of subjects were used: Five white preschool children from an intergrated nursery school, five Black preschool children from a Head Start program, five white, middle-class 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds, and five Black 16-, 17-,…

In this paper the author provides a brief overview of some of the ways in which recent sociolinguistic research is contributing to our knowledge of language teaching. The focus is on the American urban situation, especially as it relates to poor black children. One of the greatest deterrents to describing such situation has been our lack of tools…

The paper focuses on the linguistic behavior of Negro children concentrated in communities where a non-standard form of English is the accepted currency. Such children are verbal, possess a language fully developed to serve the needs of their "world," and think effectively enough to survive in a sometimes hostile environment. Certain basic…