The Kuku-Yalanji language is spoken by 500-600 Australian Aboriginal people on the coast of southeastern Cape York and inland to Chillagoe. The dictionary is of the northern dialects of Kuku-Nyungkul, the Rossville/Shipton's Flats dialect, Kuku-Yalanji, the China Camp/Daintree dialect, and Kuku-Jalunji, the Bloomfield dialect. It has three…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 34 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) object conservation and receptive language in day care center infants; (2) the syntactic incorporation of linguistic units; (3) implicit theories of meaning in…

Basic writers are defined as those whose home dialects are least like standard English. Given that all dialects of English are capable of conveying complex thought, the question facing educators is, Should students be made to learn and work in standard English, or should they be given the opportunity to express themselves in their home dialect?…

The study described here concerned the perceptions of White college students in a college of education about the educational, professional, and social status of speakers of Black English. The subjects were 46 students in two undergraduate classes in communication disorders. Each class was presented with a different recording of a passage about a…

Issues related to teaching for communicative competence in a second language are discussed: the implications of accepting a nonnative "accommodation" variety of English as a model for teaching and learning; important shifts in thinking among second language speakers; the effects of nationalism and national language development on second…

Chicano English, spoken by many Chicanos and some Anglos, is an ethnic variety of English that serves as a marker of social identity, and it has specific linguistic parameters. It is similar to standard English, and often exists alongside interference English, spoken by Spanish-speakers beginning to learn English. Research supports the argument…

The great majority of poor readers in urban schools are members of an ethnic minority, a low social class, and a poor family. The simple recognition of these factors, however, is of no help in characterizing the specific sources of language norms among urban minority students or in determining the ways these distinctive norms interfere with…

A major problem that continues to plague United States education is the fact that large numbers of disadvantaged black students are not learning to read well enough to function in society. This paper discusses three reasons for the problem of teaching reading to these students. First, there exist no comprehensive developmental reading theories, no…

Language development and dialect are measures of influences upon a student's ability to learn to read. It has been observed that students whose language differs from that used in schools and in the materials of instruction are often found in remedial reading classes. Their difficulty lies in attempting to learn to read a language which is…

A student's belief in the value of literacy is essential to effective teaching and successful learning, but can result only from a local culture whose aim is to produce literacy. The social identity and cultural norms of the young are registered in their use of language, and if literacy, as defined by others, calls the norms and identity into…

Many Puerto Rican children currently enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) classes speak Puerto Rican English (PRE). Their speech is characterized by nonstandard features, including some from Black English. Because of actual or historical interference from Spanish, they do qualify for ESL enrollment, yet their language problems are…

This French play, intended for use in a bilingual education setting, deals with the history, culture, plight, and language of Franco-Americans in New England. The plot revolves around a conversation between Jacques Cartier, who returns to New France (now New England), and several Franco-Americans gathered in a tavern on a hot afternoon. The…

This paper considers the problem of differentiating thought and language in a way that makes it possible to relate them to each other. The analysis covers approaches of sociolinguistic research, different models of language and cognitive functioning within psychology and linguistics, the cybernetic approach, and psycholinguistic analyses. A common…

PART ONE OF THIS COMPREHENSIVE MANUAL OF CHUVASH COMPRISES A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE HISTORY, CUSTOMS, AND SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE CHUVASH ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SYSTEMS. A MAP AND GAZETTEER OF THE PLACE NAMES OF CHUVASHIA (CHUVASH AUTONOMOUS SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF THE USSR), BASED ON THE MAP IN THE "GREAT SOVIET ENCYCLOPEDIA," NOVEMBER…

A NUMBER OF STEPS MUST BE TAKEN BY THE TEACHER OF CULTURALLY DEPRIVED ELEMENTARY STUDENTS TO PROVIDE THEM WITH AN OPTIMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT SO THAT THEIR INTELLECTUAL RETARDATION CAN BE CORRECTED AND REVERSED. BECAUSE MUCH OF THE ALIENATION THAT THE DISADVANTAGED STUDENT FEELS IS THE RESULT OF A CURRICULUM WHICH STRESSES FUTURE GOALS AND DWELLS…