Does not support the hypothesis that "sounding Black" predisposes White listeners to respond more negatively than "sounding White," regardless of content. Partially supports the hypothesis that "sounding Black" predisposes White listeners (1) to describe the speaker in stereotypic terms and (2) to respond negatively…

As part of a training program for Native Americans in speech and hearing sciences, University of Arizona speech-language pathologists conducted speech-language screenings of 583 Papago Indian Reservation children. This report presents screening results, describes patterns of English usage among this population and discusses the differentiation of…

Examines arguments in favor of the notion of dialect interference in writing; offers counterevidence and explores an alternative explanation for apparent dialect interference in writing. Concludes that pedagogies for teaching writing skills to native speakers of English that assume dialect interference are theoretically wrong, pedagogically…

Some of the consequences of not incorporating Ebonics into educational programs for Black children are discussed. (Author/MC)

Reports the preferences and attitudes held by English- speaking primary school children in Hawaii toward Hawaiian Creole English (HCE) and Standard English (SE). Findings indicated that, while those from a lower socioeconomic strata initially favored HCE, SE was preferred by all by the end of grade 2. (PMJ)

Describes specific training, using taped readings, designed to prepare teachers to accurately assess the oral reading of students who exhibit dialect or second language influences in their speech. (MKM)

This article describes part of an experiment aimed at elucidating the relationship between speaker, speech act and listener from a sociolinguistic and sociopsychological perspective. High school students were asked to judge the taped speech of Swedish informants from Boras, Trelleborg and the Torne Valley. (CFM)

Shares the perspectives of a black parent, herself a teacher at a school founded by the Black Panthers, whose daughter was educated in the public schools of Oakland (California) and Kalamazoo (Michigan) between 1986 and 1996. Many negative experiences, some centered around language, are described. (SLD)

Discusses the controversy over the use of Ebonics in the Oakland (California) schools and presents two schools of thought about the origin of Ebonics, the pidgin/Creole and the African retention theories. Three research studies are described that support the use of Ebonics in the classroom as a bridge to standard English. (SLD)

Profiles some of the efforts of Appalachian educators to connect area children with their heritage while combating the trends toward school dropout and poverty. Teaching students the history behind their own dialect and customs helps them accept the customs and speech of others and helps them overcome stereotypes. (SLD)

Discusses an 18-month effort by Homes for Black Children and the Wayne County (Detroit) Department of Social Services to train child welfare workers concerning the extended kinship network of the African-American family; the role of African-American men in the family and child welfare; and African-American child rearing methods, language and…

The quantification of communication network integration provides valuable information for the study of language change in very small rural communities such as Grossdorf, Austria. The approach is particularly relevant when study of aggregate group behavior has failed to yield results due to small sample size or group internal inconsistency. (26…

A sociolinguistic research project conducted in two adjacent Belgian villages with a Low Frankish-speaking population is reported. Questionnaire surveys measured the impact of the fixation of the linguistic frontier between the two villages on the local population's French/Dutch language behavior and attitudes. (Contains seven references.)…

The oral proficiency interview (OPI) has been submitted to external scrutiny and has been accepted by many foreign language educators as an accurate method of assessing speaking competence of foreign language learners. An OPI is herein examined in the context of evaluating native speakers. (seven references) (JL)

Social implications of phonological and morphological variation in Classical Latin is examined. Arguments for the social factor are instances of hypercorrection, private and domestic instances of certain datives and Augustus' use of rural "domos" for "domus." It is understood in terms of the model of urbanization. (35…