A commentary on a dictionary of Texas Mexican American Spanish now being compiled by Roberto Galvan and Richard Teschnev. This dictionary will be a valuable tool for translators of Hispanic literature. Topics treated are base and suppletive dictionaries, the kinds of corpus used in the new dictionary, and frequency as an objective yardstick. (AMH)

The history of efforts to agree upon standard English usage is outlined here, with particular attention to the role of the National Council of Teachers of English. Controversy among teachers often meets the Council's attempts at reform. Efforts to balance policy between standard spoken usage and individual dialects are noted. (CHK)

Anglo-Australians remain monolingual and Anglophile in their attitudes. They show preference for standard or prestige varieties of English. Second generation members of immigrant groups are under strong pressure to assimilate and to abandon their community languages. They may have more negative attitudes toward non-standard accents in English than…

Analyzes linguists' interpretation and application of a theory suggesting that a learner's perceived appropriateness of linguistic data was related to its use and evaluation by exploring the presence and use of English in African nations. The multidialect nature of the world necessitates a multidialect teaching of any language. (CB)

A taxonomy of the forms of literacy found in the Northwest Territories is proposed. The forms include Biblical, pragmatic vernacular, high vernacular, schooled vernacular, pragmatic English language, and essayist literacy. General and specific literacy functions, addressor-addressee relationships, and typical message form and script are noted for…

Literacy education in Jamaica lacks an officially accepted policy and methodology for teaching creole speakers. This has led to a low literacy level across the population. The distinctive features of Jamaican Creole are highlighted in this article in order to give theoretical and pedagogical insights to literacy teachers. (VM)

Reports on attempts to determine whether Cuban Abakua is a pidginized Afro-Spanish, creole, or dead language and concludes that some of this language, spoken by a secret society, has its roots in Efik, a language of the Benue-Congo, and seems to be a simple, ritualistic, structureless argot. (CB)

Examines the use of local English-language newspapers as pedagogical aids in the English-language teaching classroom in Pakistan, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of such learning activities and calling for more linguistic tolerance and acceptance of local varieties of English. (Author/CB)

Describes the high Italian speech variety commonly used by Italian Americans, based on a study of 39 Italian Americans that included interviews and questionnaires. Dialectal characteristics, convergence with English, and language maintenance and language shift in the Italian-American community are discussed. (CB)

Presents issues related to power and politics of the English language specifically in relation to the unprecedented global spread of the language. Several linguistic and nonlinguistic perspectives used to conceptualize the relationship between language and power are considered. (Author/CB)

Analyzes 10 theoretical approaches to Black language studies. Divides these into two categories: those that deny the existence of a separate Black language and those that recognize a distinct form of communication. Examines the relationship between language and politics and Black scholars' self-determination as cultural factors influencing…

Explores various ways that linguistics may be of value to the writing instructor. Focuses on the basic distinction between descriptive and prescriptive approaches to language and between competence and performance to show how sensitivity to students' natural communicative skills and to the variation between them can increase the instructor's…

An analysis of Canadian French vocabulary and an experiment in increasing the communicative ability of French learners by adding Canadian French vocabulary and rules for its use to the syllabus are reported. (MSE)

Black children's language abilities should not be judged by their schoolyard grammar. Use of Standard English "s" endings in spontaneous speech is not as good a predictor of school language achievements as is the use of those endings in reading and school grammatical or comprehension tests. (Author/DWH)

Describes a study concerned with distinguishing certain phonological and morphological features of the three dialects of Occitan, a language spoken in the south of France. Results indicate that variations in pronunciation seem to depend on sociolinguistic, as well as geographical factors, and in fact, related dialects and language cannot be…