An analysis of Old English phonology examines two traditional sound changes, the First and Second Frontings, that have been analyzed by different linguists with rather abstract theories. These analyses are refuted, and a more concrete and realistic treatment is proposed for each. Examination of Anglo-Frisian Brightening, or First Fronting, raises…

Discusses two phonological features of standard French, mid-vowels and mute e, with respect to their formal description. The wide variation involved in the use of these features by native speakers is presented, and the way that this variation adds to the complexities of language learning and teaching is examined. (JL/Author)

Discussion of the Arabic version of "Sesame Street" addresses the choice of a simplified modern standard usage as the series' language, definition of this language variety in terms of its distinguishing linguistic characteristics, and the implications of this choice for the future of Arabic and Arabic language instruction. (Author/MSE)

With the growth of world English, what learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) need most is not a native-like accent but ability to communicate with other non-native speakers. The role of English pronunciation, its aims within the ESL curriculum, and which norms and models are most appropriate for such instruction should be rethought.…

Three sets of meta-analyses examined gender effects on children's language use. Each set of analyses considered an aspect of speech that is considered to be gender typed: talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Statistically significant average effect sizes were obtained with all three language constructs. On average, girls were…

This paper investigates speech rate in two standard national varieties of Dutch on the basis of 160 15 mins conversations with native speakers who belong to four different regions in the Netherlands and four in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium (Flanders). Speech rate was quantified as articulation rate and speaking rate, both expressed as the…

A study of syntactic variation in Spanish spoken by native speakers in the United States examined patterns of variation in different areas of the country. High school students in larger Hispanic communities throughout the country were surveyed concerning their own and their parents' demographic characteristics and their Spanish speaking,…

An analysis of Korean case marking proposes an explanation for several aspects of marking, especially stacking and spreading, from a lexical perspective. The explanation has advantages over previous theories in that (1) it explains the morphology of Korean case marking without reference to several levels of syntactic derivation, including…

Describes a study that attempts to systematize the criteria required for accurate translations of technical documents. The results of a Linguistic Appreciation Questionnaire-Test, administered to 19 professional translators, were used to categorize the most common translation variables: style, structure, rhythm, and meaning of text in the hope of…

The vocative use of the Chinese term of address "tongzhi" ("comrade"), is analyzed. It was found that in its unmarked form it is a neutral term, but marked, its use becomes a negotiation to change the social distance between speaker and addressee, possibly explaining how certain such structures evolve and are maintained. (MSE)

Challenges existing assumptions about literacy and literacy learning in an effort to both demonstrate and explore the transactive potentials of theory and methodology in the study of literacy. (HOD)

Recent sociolinguistic research is used to show that the American Sign Language (ASL)-English contact situation does not result in the emergence of a pidgin as supposed. Variation along the ASL-English continuum can be accounted for by interplay of foreigner talk, judgments of proficiency, and learners' attempts to master the target language.…

A study investigated variation from certain morphophonological and phonetic features normally associated with familiar, popular, or vulgar speech as they occur in a prestigious variety of French (spoken on a French literary talk show). Phonostylistic variation in the speech of host and guests is examined. (Author/MSE)

It is argued that anglicisms in Canadian French cover a much broader spectrum than in any European variety of French, with traits of the English language incorporated into spelling, pronunciation, morphology, syntax, lexicon, and phraseology. A typology of these features is proposed, with examples. (Author/MSE)

Discussion of French language planning focuses on two different roles: official, cherished language of France and international language subject to outside influence. Three areas of concern are discussed: borrowing from English; lexical variation outside France; and influence of computer science on language, particularly the use of spell-checking…