The post-colonial governments of the Pacific Islands are demanding universal literacy in European languages through the introduced social institutions of education, government, law, and economics. This shift from oral to literate societies is contributing significantly to the erosion of traditional languages and cultures. (Author/MT)

This paper explores the relationship between the structure of orthographies and the way they are laid out spatially. In most written systems, consonantal alphabets have been written right to left, while vocalic ones have been written left to right, suggesting directional properties are the consequences of different processing strategies.…

A short course in study skills and written language skills resulted in improved self-concept, written language, and study skills for 16 gifted underachievers (grades 6-9). Gender and age-grade differences were noted along with implications for gifted education. (CL)

Pragmatics, often defined as the study of language use and language users, sets out to explain what people wish to achieve and how they go about achieving it using language. The thirteen chapters in this volume show how translation (skill, art, process, and product) is affected by pragmatic factors such as the acts performed by people when they…

Paper presented at the Second International Conference on Linguistics and Translation, October 4-7, 1972, Montreal, Canada. (DD)

Describes process of placing poems on paper so that images emerge when the poems are viewed through an old-style stereoopticon. (SP)

Humorous treatment of the subject. (SP)

Involves association of sounds with their most regular spellings, plus learning the patterns of irregularities; charts illustrating spelling patterns are included. (SP)

Argues that a poem might express the poet's feelings but does not communicate them. (RD)

Reading can be taught by matching the sound system of a language with its written system. (CK)

Syntax in the written expression of five normal and five learning disabled (LD) fourth graders was assessed. The syntax of the LD group was found to be significantly deficient when compared to that of the normal group. (Author)

Issues in illiteracy are discussed, and the author comments on facets of the English language writing system. He advocates a formal approach in which comprehension, rather than decoding, is the focus for students, including slow learners or disabled readers. The approach would concentrate on patterns larger than the letter-sound unit. (CL)

Discusses the use of the comma in Spanish and gives examples of its use in Spanish literature. (NCR)