Adult basic education fails to recognize fundamental differences between instructors and students whose native language is not English or whose home language is a nonstandard English dialect. Solutions include using the additive model of literacy development, using home languages first, and increasing understanding of linguistic minority groups.…

Examines three current textbooks for German as a foreign language with regard to their coverage of Switzerland as a German-speaking nation. Concludes by suggesting that pluricentric German language textbooks for beginners are rare. (Author/VWL)

This study presents evidence collected from basilectal texts that the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) mental predicates "think, know, want, feel, say, see, hear" have clear lexical equivalents in Hawaii Creole English (HCE), and that these HCE predicates occur, with minor qualification, in the syntactic configurations predicted by…

Discusses how American Sign Language does and does not resemble African American Vernacular English (Ebonics). The need for metalinguistic awareness in students is highlighted. Students are urged to learn Standard English, recognize and respect other languages they use, and know the link between language, status, and power. (CR)

In a Cleveland (Ohio) program, writing instruction for adults who speak nonstandard English is based on respect for students' spoken language as a dialect. Adapting foreign language instructional techniques such as translation, teachers avoided formal grammar terms and used extensive oral practice. (SK)

Argues that literature teachers should select poetry that represents all ethnic groups, not only groups represented within the class anthology. Discusses the voice, theme, rhyme, rhythm, tone, and imagination of several gifted Black poets. Concludes that teachers must be aware of these voices and use the poetry of gifted Black poets to model the…

Examines linguistic and social factors reflected in the development of American Czech, spoken by Czech immigrants living in rural Nebraska communities, distinguishing between fully competent, proficient, and imperfect speakers. Despite the undisputed English influence, American Czech shared characteristics with other enclave languages developing…

Factors in the formation of standard Spanish in the American continent are reviewed, including historical and sociological variables, and the evolution of various phonological, sociolinguistic, and written features from Castilian Spanish are discussed. In light of rapid change in Latin American society, future directions for dialect study are…

Examines methods and materials for teaching beginning reading and Mandarin Chinese (the standard dialect the People's Republic of China) to Chinese children of different dialects. Finds value in the integration of language arts with peer tutoring, multimodal approach, and teaching with mnemonics, but reports excessive memorization, little silent…

This study argues that both Shanghai and Taiwanese have a metrical system, that compound stress is left-headed in Shanghai and right-headed in Taiwanese, and that a tonal domain is a metrical one. The article explains some asymmetries between Shanghai and Taiwanese and maintains that metrical structure can be determined when data on phonetic…

A modified matched guise technique was used with 57 subjects to evaluate 14 recorded voices in 3 accent categories (broad, mild, hypercorrect). Some differences were found between native speakers and nonnative speakers, and the results pose questions in terms of the two distinct judgmental dimensions of solidarity and status. (60 references) (LB)

A solution to the employment problem in remote areas of Canada, where natives speak only indigenous dialects, is discussed as it relates to Inuktitut. Distributed Language Translation would permit remote employment with dialect data transmitted over distances and translated into the standard indigenous language and the country's official…

Examines linguistic data from peripheral areas of Mexico and suggests that the contemporary resistance of the final /s/ in Spanish is characteristic only of urban regions. The study also hypothesizes that Spanish final /s/ was once more generally weakened throughout Mexico. An indirect Nahuatl contribution is also postulated. (62 references)…

Discusses various quantitative and qualitative techniques used to examine nonlinguists' beliefs about language, focusing on content-orientated approaches to conversations with African Americans about African American Vernacular English. Approaches to discoursal meaning based on vantage theory and argument analysis are also considered. (MDM)

The connection between the variables of socioeconomic class and social networks are explored, and the outlines of a model are suggested that can integrate the variables coherently. Evidence from research in Northern Ireland and Philadelphia is used to help show the role played by weak network ties. (67 references) (Author/LB)