A bibliography is presented of written materials relating to Gullah, an Afro-American creole of English. The materials listed were selected with the aim of giving the student of Gullah easier access both to helpful descriptions and to the texts themselves. In some cases, extensive indexing is provided to facilitate the location of Gullah passages…

A corpus of Black English (BEV) data is re-examined with exclusive attention to the "is" form of the copula. This analysis differs from previous examinations in that more constraints have been introduced, and the Cedergren/Sankoff computer program for multivariant analysis has been employed. The analytic techniques that are used allow for a finer…

A study is reported which investigated the social consequences that follow when a speaker accommodates or fails to accommodate his speech style with reference to his interlocutor. (Author/RM)

Challenges the notion that a lexical code or argot necessarily defines the parameters of a sub-cultural group, and illustrates the challenge with a discussion of language particular to the homosexual community. (CLK)

Examines various approaches to textual description, and argues that the Prague model provides the most adequate criteria for describing communicative dynamism in, for example, narrative, descriptive, or discussion style. (AM)

Examines the function of language structure constraints in phonological change, particularly with regard to phonetic and morphological patterns. (Author/AM)

Discusses some ramifications of the Conference on College Composition and Communication's resolution on "Students' Right to Their Own Language." (DD)

Anthropological linguists often deal with language systems manifesting nonrandom variability. This article demonstrates that methods developed within the U.S. for the study of language variability are useful in the study of creole languages. This study was conducted on the island of Tobago in the West Indies. (CHK)

The variable usage of Negative Incorporation as a phonological process in French Sign Language (FSL) and as a grammatical process in American Sign Language (ASL) is described. In addition, the historical continuum between FSL and ASL despite heavy restructuring is shown. (HP)

Written in Spanish, the article discusses the transformational grammar of the Spanish used by Chicanos. (NQ)

Discusses several subtle linguistic forces which are leading to specific language changes, and advocates training teachers to recognize these changes. (DD)

Discusses, from both historical and sociolinguistic viewpoints, the changing of the phoneme /a/ in colloquial English. The rather "bright, moderately open" sound, once considered standard English, has been and is moving toward a more open and back articulation. (IFS/WGA)

An analysis of the process of disappearance in which each language is engaged. Information concerning their past, present and future as indicated by the sociocultural profile of the ethnic groups concerned is given. The reasons for the language disappearance and, on the dialectological level, signs of language death are noted. (AMH)

Because of the great number of speakers of Spanish in America, Spanish American vocabulary is greatly increasing. To be accepted as an "Americanism," a word must have originated in Hispanic America and be prevalent over a large geographic area. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

Examines colloquial contractions (spelling variants such as "kinda" and "hafta") against a background of other variations in the English writing system with respect to their morphological identity, characteristic spelling patterns, and significance in print. Divides variants into those that are independent of speech variation…