Presents a study that originated from a sociolinguistic research project in Mexico City during interviews with six to seven year old children from sub-proletarian groups. The study focuses on the inability of the children to distinguish between "preguntar" and "decir" ("to ask" and "to tell"). (MES)

Offers a tentative explanation for the development of the phonological processes of aspiration and deletion of syllable final and word final position /s/ in Cuban Spanish. Summarizes other explanations of this phenomenon. (PMJ)

Gives an overview of the language situation on Ponape, with reference to social structure. (AM)

Using data from three experimental studies on British English, this study addresses whether, in dialect contact, there is a difference in the degree of convergence at different phonological levels. Data suggest that, in a contact situation, surface differences will be eradicated at the expense of phonologically complex differences. (29 references)…

Surveyed diverse students at an urban U.S. college to investigate their opinions of Ebonics. Three dimensions of Ebonics opinions, identified through factor analysis, suggested a typology of student orientations toward Ebonics, and multiple regression analysis identified variables that predicted these orientations. Findings showed that respondents…

Reviews literature from the fields of psycholinguistics, communications, and social psychology that has examined the effects of speech accents on interpersonal attitudes, casual attributions, and subsequent behaviors. Links selected findings to the filed of counseling to show that these findings can inform service delivery, particularly counseling…

Offers an optimality theoretic account for the phonological process of across-word regressive assimilation (AWRA) in Picard, a Gallo-Romance dialect spoken in the Picardie region in Northern France and Southern Belgium. Focuses on the varieties spoken in the Vimeu region of France. Examines one particular topic in the analysis of AWRA: the…

Investigates an external variable critical to the understanding of sociolinguistic variation in a rural, tri-ethnic community in the Southern United States. Cultural identity is postulated as a speaker's orientation to the local and larger regional cultures, and in Warren County, North Carolina, this orientation correlates strongly with vernacular…

Examines the background and nature of general English usage in Singapore, focusing on the speaking patterns of students whose native language is Chinese. Focuses on the influence of Chinese on the syntax and pronunciation of "Singlish." (MDM)

Argues against the concept of a distinctive "Ghanaian English" and in favor of the view that various postcolonial nations share the same nonstandard usages. The article maintains that British Standard English is still the norm for educated Ghanaians. (Contains 16 references.) (MDM)

Defines "Estuary English," a fast-growing accent of British English that is spreading across England. Discusses its usage in the British business community; its acceptability and future; and its implications for business communicators, teachers, and consultants. (SR)

Describes several successful lessons that provide students with new awareness of the English language. Includes lessons focusing on language change, onomatopoeia, slang, word origin, dialect, and language functions. (MM)

Referee design offers a rich field for social and cultural analysis. The preponderance of foreign-dialect advertisements in New Zealand (NZ) broadcasting is discussed and concluded to reflect a small nation's focus on the prestige of other culturally powerful nations and the comparative lack of NZ linguistic diversity. (24 references) (LB)

Finds that (1) U.S. listeners assigned more favorable assessment to U.S. than non-U.S.-accented speakers but that information recall was not affected; and (2) status affected recall, with subjects recalling more information from messages delivered by professors than by students. (SR)

Investigates the preferred patterns for the "organization of experience" among African-American adolescents. Finds that these adolescents report a strong preference for using vernacular-based patterns in academic writing tasks as they get older. Suggests that the organization of expository discourse is affected by cultural preference and…