An important feature of the interface between language and society is the use of address terms. Following Brown and Gilman (1960), research studies of address terms have been extended to several cultural settings. This study contributes to this fertile area of sociolinguistic studies by describing the address terms used among undergraduates in an…

This paper explores the sociolinguistic awareness in English of tertiary level students in Hong Kong and Wuhan (Mainland China). The language data consisted of specific instances when a native speaker presenter made changes, in the course of oral delivery, to the written text of a conference paper that she had prepared in advance. Matched pairs of…

Who wins in sociolinguistic research undertaken in minority ethnolinguistic communities? This is a question that might at first glance seem an odd one. In fact, however, the concept of winning--with the concomitant themes of games and gamesmanship, plays and players, gains and losses, rewards and punishments, and so on--is an apposite one wherever…

The tally of occurrences of a PC buzzword on academic and other websites seems to corroborate the suspicion that we're quickly abandoning "e pluribus unum" as the governing principle for treating individuals justly. In its place is the new image of America as a melange of competing interest groups. In this NAS research on comparative…

This paper aims to reconsider the status of "English as an international language" from the language user's perspective. Accepting a shift in focus from "English" to "Englishes", we argue that the concept of "Englishes", which assumes the pluralization of linguistic and cultural norms, still remains a collective concept, and to discuss English…

Assessing and treating bilingual children with speech and language disorders is difficult given the relative paucity of data on the speech and language skills of typically developing bilingual children and those with speech and language disorders. The purpose of this article is to review the research that is available with regard to clinical…

Can an explanation of the origins of social disparities in educational achievement be assisted by a critical examination of Bernstein's sociology? This central question is approached by a consideration of the status of Bernstein's socio-linguistic thesis. The focus is on the nature of the explanations provided. The paper asks: What is the…

This essay examines a Brooklyn College-based research collective that placed African American languages and cultures at the center of the composition curriculum. Recovering such pedagogies challenges the perception of the CCCC's 1974 "Students' Right to Their Own Language" resolution as a progressive theory divorced from the everyday…

In Wales, bilingual education in Welsh and English has an increasingly high profile and Wales shares international leadership of bilingual education policies and practices alongside other countries where bilingual education flourishes. Ever since the first designated Welsh-medium primary school was opened in 1939, Welsh-medium and bilingual…

Global English is under contestation. Although some consider lingua franca English (LFE) as a neutral medium or code that does not belong to any specific culture or nationality, others see the deceptive nature of this linguistic globalization. Along with Spring (2007/this issue), they see global English as embodying partisan interests and values.…

The 4th international conference "Nation and Language: Modern Aspects of Socio-Linguistic Development" continues an eight-year old tradition. The conference is organized by Kaunas University of Technology Panevezys Institute and aims to bring scientists and researchers together for a general scientific discussion on new trends in…

In this paper, I report on the findings of a study that investigated non-native speaker interaction in a three dimensional (3D) virtual world that incorporates avatars and text chat known as "Active Worlds." Analysis of the chat transcripts indicated that the 24 intermediate level EFL participants were able to undertake a variety of tasks through…

This qualitative study analyzed the English language learning difficulties of 13 purposively chosen Korean students relative to their sociolinguistic competence, motivation in using the English language, and cultural factors. Interview responses were transcribed, categorized and thematised according to saliency, meaning and homogeneity. The…

This article contains a description of the Dual Proficiency (DP) program in an urban elementary school located in the heart of a large south-western city, as well as the teachers who designed and now implement DP, and the immigrant community participating by choice in DP. We write from a context where, ironically, the number of English language…

Minority students' English learning is a special and an indispensable component of English education system in China. This article studies students' linguistic knowledge that live in Northwestern China--Gan Nan Autonomy State of Gan Su Province with majority population of Tibetan, mixed with Chinese and some Muslim. An analogous analysis is…