Recent sociolinguistic research is used to show that the American Sign Language (ASL)-English contact situation does not result in the emergence of a pidgin as supposed. Variation along the ASL-English continuum can be accounted for by interplay of foreigner talk, judgments of proficiency, and learners' attempts to master the target language.…

Examines the effects of literacy on cultural traditions, linguistic behavior, socioeconomic organization, cognitive processes, and child development. Considers the implications for anthropological, psychological, and linguistic theories from the increased attention given to the study of literacy. Includes suggestions for socially and culturally…

Reports on a study of the relationship of English phonological variation to intelligibility for adult second language learners of English. Indicates that learners tested on their ability to understand working-class (New Yorkese), educated (Standard English), and Foreign-accented speakers of English found the standard more intelligible than the…

Describes the processes by which distinctive varieties of English develop in areas where English functions as a second language. The distinctions between rhetorical and communicative norms for speech events in these varieties are discussed. (Author/AM)

Discusses the significance of communication in the present-day world and the various factors affecting the comprehensibility of spoken English. Warns aqainst stressing fluency at the cost of correct pronunciation and against dogmatic preference for certain varieties of English. (IFS/WGA)

Describes the teaching methods of the Yazigi Institutes of Brazil, which offer Portuguese instruction to foreigners. (JB)

The language which is spoken and abilities in its social use are critical individual attributes in association with access to life chances. Sociolinguistic variables have been neglected by sociologists and language related social problems are neither recognized nor understood. (Author/RLV)

Discusses the problems involved in making room for language variation realities in the teaching of French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Describes a teaching method for teaching French which uses samples of recorded oral discourse to familiarize students with French as it is actually used. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This article discusses how and when children acquire and master various speech styles, and specifically deals with the development of sex-specific speech as influenced by role expectations. (CLK)

Some data dispute the common assumption of linguists that speakers of nonstandard varieties of English lack functional command of Standard English. Hawaiian high school students were found equally competent in Standard and Hawaiian English. Implications of this finding for educational practices in Hawaii are discussed. (CHK)

This article touches upon the cultural and linguistic factors important to the development of a Saamish standard language. The Swedish Saamis, and the status standard Saamish has among them, are dealt with in particular. (CFM)

Conversational data from a native speaker of European Portuguese from the island of Faial were analyzed to determine segmental and prosodic contexts favoring unstressed vowel deletion. Factors such as rhythmic preservation, syllable structure, and functional load are discounted in the analysis, suggesting vowel deletion is essentially a word-based…

Notes that English coronal stop deletion is constrained by the preceding segment, so that stops and sibilants favor deletion more than liquids and nonsibilant fricatives. Suggests the existence of an attractive theoretical integration of categorical and variable processes in the grammar to account for the constraint. (26 references) (Author/CK)

Considers the role of native-speaker English language teachers in Hong Kong. First, the article examines the concept of native speaker and offers five criteria that determine whether a person can be classed as a native speaker or not. Second, it focuses on the use of native-speaker English teachers in Hong Kong, with particular reference to a…