Educationese, the language often spoken, written and understood only by educators, is in grave danger. Anti-educationese radicals recently proposed national legislation outlawing the passive voice in all education communications, even school district newsletters. These revolutionaries purport that the use of shorter sentences, simple vocabulary…

The author argues that the new journal "Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric" offers access to student writing outside of the pedagogical apparatus that has historically accompanied the publication of such writing, and in the process challenges composition's standard practice of citing students by first name…

A defense of the passive voice against charges that it is wordy, obscure, and ineffective. (DD)

Outlines the basic elements and classroom applications of "word grammar," a form of sector (tagmemic) analysis to be used in standard English instruction. (RL)

The complex of factors governing mood choice in Spanish is reexamined. Mood choice is determined by the basic semantic values expressing the content of an utterance. The influence of comment, reaction, emotions, doubt, and uncertainty on mood choice are explored. (PMJ)

Discusses the prevalent trend in American English to verbify, that is to convert nonverbs into verbs. Offers criteria to help decide when to use verbified words. (SR)

Attempts to use a construct of literary theory to solve a linguistic problem: the notion of narrative perspective to explain tense variation in Bulgarian narrative. The specific phenomenon of variation is between the past indefinite and the indirect tenses in passages where all the verb forms should be indirect. (24 references) (Author/CK)

Examines samples of primary-school-aged children's writing to identify and describe the various ways in which boys and girls use language to construct meaning, and to discuss the gendered ways of knowing and being that are revealed and constructed. Findings indicate that girls generally write longer, more complex texts, using a wider range of both…

A discussion of passive verb forms and the passive voice attempts to explain the nature of passives and to offer composition teachers some reference points for teaching them. Twelve arguments are proposed to explain resistance to the teaching of passives; each is termed a continuum in order to help assess understandings and attitudes. The 12…

Two aspects of the problem of native language grammar instruction, in this case English, are addressed. First, it is argued that a combination of linguistic and pedagogical factors contribute to the explanation for the apparent decline in English grammar instruction in the schools. Secondly, it is argued that effective grammar teaching should…

This issue of "Cross Currents" includes the following articles: "An Experience with CLL" by Earl Stevick; "Accuracy vs. Fluency in the English Language Classroom" by Kenton Sutherland; "Predicate Markers: A New Look at the English Predicate System" by Phillip L. Knowles; "'Let Your TV do the Talking':…