Investigates to what extent the variability between "siempre" and "todo el tiempo" in the San Antonio dialect demonstrates semantic convergence between them, and whether there will be a selection of the innovating form for the future. Examination of this variability may illuminate questions of how such changes occur…

Provides a framework of key issues surrounding the non-standard orthographic representation of non-standard language varieties. The following topics are addressed: the selective nature of orthographic choice; relational an contrastive meaning of orthographic conventions; interplay of sameness and difference in use of orthography to make claims on…

Presents findings of a study into language awareness among teachers in an area of Germany where a Central German dialect (Pfalzisch) is spoken. Reveals that in the Mannheim Suburb of Neckarau, many parents who speak a nonstandard dialect, leave it up to schools to teach standard German. Suggests teachers should have a systematic knowledge of the…

Evidence is presented of the levelling of the Tyneside (Newcastle) English vowel system toward that of a putative regional standard. This process is hypothesized to follow from the fragmentation of tight-knit urban communities that formed after large-scale immigration to Tyneside from elsewhere in the British Isles during the 18 and 19th…

Discusses the Third Dialect (Labov 1991, 1994), offering the first systematic variationist analysis of speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with particular focus on three phonological processes. Argues that Veatch's (1991) model of English syllable structure provides a unified account of these seemingly unrelated phonological changes in Pittsburgh.…

Examines the concept and practice of returning linguistic favors to host research communities, the so-called "linguistic gratuity principle" (Wolfram,1993). Uses a case study format as the basis for scrutinizing researcher-community relationships. Presents research from the post-insular dialect community of Ocracoke Island in North…

Discusses the need for a forum to discuss public issues related to language. Introduces three papers that focus on current language issues. (Author/VWL)

This study examined the production of African-American English (AAE) forms produced by 69 school-aged African-American children from middle socio-economic status (SES) communities to determine if age would influence: (a) the number of different types of AAE tokens and (b) the rate of dialect. Descriptive data revealed that there were more than 20…

Most work investigating the role of convergence in situations of language attrition has focused on the morpho-syntactic restructuring of the dying language variety. A central concern of such research has been untangling the factors driving the restructuring with an eye towards establishing whether the changes observed are best viewed as externally…

This report focuses on the teaching of English to Aboriginal children in primary schools in Australia. A definition and analysis of dialectal differences between Aboriginal (Australian) English and Standard (Australian) English is offered that includes the phonological, morpho-syntactic, lexico-semantic, and pragmatic differences of the Aboriginal…

The definition of and distinction between two variations of American English, African American English Vernacular (AAEV) and Gullah, the American creole spoken on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, are discussed. It is argued that while these and other varieties are defined typically by their basilects, the reality encountered in the field…

The debate about the use of Black English has been raging for many years, with no real solutions and few practical suggestions to help teachers and African-American students handle the situation in the classroom. Tensions are often heightened by misconceptions about Standard English--that it is a White man's language and necessary for success and…

Presentations on aspects of foreign language instruction include: "A World Without Walls" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); "Practical Aspects of Individualizing Foreign Language Instruction" (Howard B. Altman); "Teaching Foreign Language Through Literature" (Jeanne Varney Pleasants); "Individualization of Foreign Language Instruction" (Howard B. Altman);…

Some errors in adult black students' writing cannot be analyzed merely within the traditional hierarchy of grammatical rules; a look at sociological factors is germane to an evaluation of students' writing ability or inability. Data for an analysis of black adult students' writing at the syntactic level have shown that problems of clarity might be…

This paper considers the inclusion of different types of dialect variants in formal language behavior. College-level writing is examined from the points of view of the writer and the teacher, and the determinants and features of vernacular transference are discussed with reference to literary, social, and economic realities. Specific techniques…