The papers in this collection provide a brief state-of-the-art statement on the role of non-standard dialects of English in education and on some implications of the Ann Arbor decision. The following papers are included: (1) "Vernacular Black English: Setting the Issues in Time," by Roger W. Shuy; (2) "Beyond Black English:…

The causes and effects of resistance to the acknowledgement and appreciation of the language skills and characteristics of United States Southwest bilinguals can be seen in both the Hispanic and Anglo communities. The cultural inferiority ideology of Americans to Mexicans is a historical cause of this resistance, and it is reflected in the…

Four hypotheses explaining the origin of Berbice Dutch, a Dutch-based Creole language spoken in the county of Berbice in Guyana, are explored. The most likely explanation is that the language was first spoken by Berbice slaves as a means of expressing the identity of a newly created "ethnic" group. (Author/CB)

Reviews the notion of communicative competence in light of its relevance for issues in literacy and the teaching of reading. Defines four components of communicative competence, i.e., grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence. Discusses their role in the reading process in light of linguistic theory and classroom research.…

A paradigm gap has prevented research on second language acquisition theory and indigenized varieties of English from making substantive contributions to each other. The varieties of English represent several significant sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic variables, the investigation of which will put second language acquisition theory on firmer…

Presents a historical summary of the sociolinguistic context of Malaysian English and analyzes data demonstrating that transfer from Malay to standard Malaysian English does not result from interference leading to fossilization, but rather as English is acculturated in a sociolinguistic context unique to Malaysia. (Author/CB)

This paper addresses the interplay between the disciplines of psychology and sociolinguistics in second language acquisition. Psychology explains the process by which learners create their second language system, or interlanguage. Sociolinguistics examines the effects of social factors on learners' interlanguage. This paper focuses on an…

This paper develops a speaker-centered view of language as an alternative to the monolithic decontextualized abstractions favored by modern linguistics, and suggests the application of the speaker-centered view to indigenous language renewal. The paper contends that the modern notion of languages as homogeneous stable "things" that are…

Outlines the beliefs people have about speech styles, how and why people modify speech styles, and the role of speech style in social identity. Discusses educational implications of these findings. (RL)

Surveys recent research in language acquisition, emphasizing the views of M. A. K. Halliday. (RL)

Notes that learning occurs in particular social contexts. Reviews research on actual classroom language -- specifically, instructional conversations-- along with work on emergent literacy and ability-based reading and writing groups. Discusses implications of the research for educational practice, policies, and students' learning. (RS)

Examines strikingly parallel claims concerning Japanese communication strategies, and female communication strategies in the West. Miscommunication between Japan and the West resembles miscommunication between the sexes in the West, suggesting not that Japanese linguistic behavior is not feminine but that it is indicative of the problems inherent…

Examines the relative contributions of the school and the family to the bilingual development of francophone minority group students in western Canada. The implications for the survival of the French language in western Canada are discussed. (74 references) (GLR)

Discusses the independent Namibian government's goal of making English (currently the mother tongue of less than 5 percent of the population) the official language to unite various race and speech communities into one national entity, and proposes a systems approach to enable language planners to see the relationships between plans and other…

This study examines the speech act sequence of introductions among native speakers of American English from a wide variety of occupations, educational backgrounds, and role relationships. Specifically, the focus of the study is on the sequencing of other-introductions; namely, in an introduction that involves at least three participants, who gets…