Presents a look at some of the research being done on the origins of language. (BB)

In order to test the effects of listener errors on scores on an expressive language task, a group of 20 Black and 20 White college students viewed videotapes of eight first-grade boys and recorded in writing the boys' responses to 10 vocabulary items from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. (Author/PHR)

This study documents the instances of code-switching and interference in the speech of a bilingual child living in Rome, Italy, with his American mother and Italian father. (CFM)

Surface structure morphology in child second language acquisition is investigated with emphasis on mastery of correct forms and consequent implications for teachers and researchers. Communication strategies used by the second language learner are discussed. (RM)

Little published research has been conducted to date on the use of talk by teachers and children in primary schools. Describes an attempt to explore discourse in junior and middle school classrooms using interaction analysis and intuitive contextual analysis to examine interactions between teachers and children in a variety of learning situations.…

Argues that the influence of dialect on the language of West Indian children may be much stronger than has been assumed. (Editor/RK)

Analyzes the ways in which language use reflects alignments and symmetry between people who are well-acquainted and communicate via electronic mail in Greek. Focus is on certain discourse features that form the conventionalized style of e-mail and frame contextualization cues, particularly certain patterns of code-switching and style shifts. (MSE)

Argues that while much research on spoken Arabic uses Classical Arabic as the standard for measuring variation, the assumption leads to fundamental and persistent misunderstanding of the true situation. More careful examination of empirical data reveals that variation and change in spoken Arabic involves interplay between local varieties and…

Centers on computer-mediated communication in a second language (L2). Introduces a conceptual framework for understanding the role of computer-mediated interaction based on a sociocultural analysis of the relationship among text, talk, and learning. Then analyzes current research according to five features particular to online interaction. (90…

Investigates several instruments measuring intelligence and prior conceptual knowledge/achievement to determine how well they predict outcomes in computer assisted language learning. Concludes that a non-verbal intelligence test was a significant predictor, but that prior conceptual knowledge of course content was low. Level of prior achievement…

This article investigates methodological problems involved in a discourse-centered exploration of societal ideologies, and in particular, in an ongoing research program studying publicly accessible discourse in a number of European countries related to interethnic conflicts, the construction of ethnic or national identities, and nation-building…

Evaluates competing proposals for the underspecification of phonological representations against the facts of phonemic acquisition. Results indicate that context-sensitive radical underspecification provides a plausible account of each developmental stage and the transition between stages with minimal grammar change. (36 references) (Author/CK)

Evaluates the principle of laryngeal-supralaryngeal cyclicity by manipulating the domain cycle and phase relationship of the cycle as independent variables and by monitoring longitudinally the order of emergent phonemic distinctions in the sound systems of seven children with phonological delays as the dependent variable. Findings are discussed.…

Presents data from 4 Inuit children ages 2;0 to 3;6 that shows relatively early acquisition of both simple and complex forms of the passive. Within this age range, children are productively producing truncated, full, action, and experiential passive. Reasons for this precociousness, including adult input and language structure, are explored. (56…

A survey of literature since 1990 on minority languages and language rights focuses on five issues: definition of minorities; individual vs. collective rights; legal bases for minority linguistic rights; applications and interpretations of minority language rights; and assessments of the impact of minority rights legislation. A nine-item annotated…