In the first phase of this study, a graduate class in social dialects was divided into four groups. The experimental group was exposed to a detailed transformational analysis of standard and black English. They were administered a language attitude survey and completed a self-evaluation of their ability to teach effectively speakers of black…

Forty-eight black seventh-grade pupils participated in a study to test the assumption that the previously learned dialect of black inner-city pupils interferes with reading achievement. Standardized reading achievement test scores were used to classify the students in three groups representing three levels of reading proficiency. Speech variables…

Discursive functions are seldom expressed in an absolutely neutral way. In most cases, various colorings - expressive, affective or social - are superimposed on the utterance by which a function is conveyed. In so far as these colorings are not random shades, but can be regarded as graded nuances within given ranges, selected in order to fit the…

This dissertation describes a study of the Black English Vernacular (BEV) based on 350 compositions written in the college classroom by 42 black students from working class and lower class families in a predominantly white university. The correlation between certain extralinguistic variables and over 20 linguistic variables was examined. Although…

Using as a framework Ferguson's diglossia model with its division into a high and a low variety of the language used, the linguistic situation in the Sudan in described as a continuum. At one end is found the very formal classical Arabic, used for special occasions. At the other end is a casual form which dominates meetings and social gatherings…

This volume presents principles and models for describing language variation, and introduces a time-based, dynamic framework for linguistic description. The book first summarizes some of the problems of grammatical description encountered from Saussure through the present and then outlines possibilities for new descriptions of language which take…

Teachers with training in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) are often called upon to participate in programs to teach a standard English dialect to speakers of non-standard dialects ("dialect expansion"). A course outline is presented here which should respond to the needs of four groups: (1) college professors who recognize…

The purpose of this series of four studies was to precisely describe the code and dialect features of the speech of both lower class Negro children and middle class white children. In the first study, 16 white middle class (WMC) children were compared to 16 Negro lower class (NLC) children on both an imitation and a comprehension task. The WMC…

Because the use of "good" grammar is directly related to status in American society, changes in grammatical usage are made slowly and cautiously. Current American linguistic attitudes are derived from two aspects of the early New England school tradition: the development of lexicography initiated in this country by Noah Webster, and the…

This minimally revised version of the author's 1935 M.A. thesis has been published at this time not only because it is considered an invaluable contribution to the sociolinguistic history of Hawaii but also because increased interest in problems of pidgin and creole languages seems to make it particularly relevant. Initial chapters deal with the…

This study explored whether statistically significant differences exist between the (1) grammatical structures produced by high, average, and low black, inner-city elementary readers as measured by a language competency task; and (2) whether statistically significant interactions occur between reading achievement levels and the age of the child,…

This reference grammar provides extensive analysis and examples of the Czech language. The introductory section discusses general concepts concerning speech and language, Czech dialectology, linguistic analysis, stylistics, grammar, and diachronic linguistics. The major sections include phonology, orthography, morphology, and syntax. Several…

To explore some of the ways in which notions of grammaticality reflected in secondary English language textbook series affect a student's acquisition of standard English and his attitude toward language, (1) statements which authors of widely-used textbooks made about standard English and why it is taught in the schools were compared with comments…

This third section of the research project, "The Syntax of Contemporary Brazilian Portuguese," presents a descriptive and historical survey of the evolution of the language. Included in the work are: (1) a summary of historical concern with this subject reflecting literary and linguistic interest, (2) classification and discussion of…

The comprehension performance of Standard English (SE) and Black English (BE) speakers associated with language materials distinguished by segmental and suprasegmental features of black dialect was investigated. Also assessed was the nature of comprehension improvement on these materials by SE speakers who had been systematically exposed to black…