There is an ongoing debate whether phenomena of disfluency (such as filled pauses) are produced communicatively. Clark and Fox Tree ("Cognition" 84(1):73-111, 2002) propose that filled pauses are words, and that different forms signal different lengths of delay. This paper evaluates this Filler-As-Words hypothesis by analyzing the…

Cued American English (CAE) is a visual variety of English derived from a mode of communication called Cued Speech (CS). CS, or cueing, is a system of communication for use with the deaf, which consists of hand shapes, hand placements, and mouth shapes that signify the phonemic information conventionally conveyed through speech in spoken…

Compares the different ways in which Americans and Japanese people shift topics in business conversations. It is suggested that the different uses of topic-shifting strategies reflect a more profound difference in cultural expectations. (Author/GLR)

Argues that the frequently negative representations of racial or ethnic minorities in American film are related to the ideology embodied in the "Western Hero." Focuses on ideology and race relations in Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales" and three films: "The Vanishing American" (1925); "Bad Day at Black Rock"…

Proposes that the distinction between syntactic and nonsyntactic use of reflexives is not necessarily one of lexical ambiguity, positing one type of referentially dependent element (reflexives) which have two options for being related to their antecedents (syntactic binding and discourse conference). The paper focuses on Chinese reflexive ziji and…

A full century before Patrick Henry's persuasive battle for the rights of oppressed people, a San Juan Pueblo Indian medicine man known only as Po-Pay was the masterful communicator and agitator who orchestrated the first American revolution to drive the Spanish back into Mexico. Seeking mineral wealth, cheap labor, and the maximum number of…

In a series of three papers, I examined the identity-development of three Chinese women teachers as they moved back and forth between Eastern and Western cultures and languages amid the rapidly changing events of the last four decades. I use a river metaphor to explore three phases in the cross-cultural lives of these women: in the first paper,…

Describes the use of Arabic in the news media, worship places, and schools of Arabic-speaking immigrants to the United States in the early 1900s and in the 1980s. Predicts that Arabic usage among 1980s immigrants will follow a pattern, noted among early immigrants, in which Arabic usage gradually diminishes. (KH)

Included in this report are descriptions of the background, lifestyle, and sociocultural patterns of Ethiopian refugees. Intended to provide information for American sponsors involved in Ethiopian refugee adjustment and resettlement in the United States, the report discusses Ethiopian and American differences in patterns of thinking and behavior…

This book is a collection of articles and research materials on Arab-Americans. Part one of the book provides an historical overview of Arab-Americans, their reasons for emigration from Greater Syria, and profiles of the two major religious groups, Muslims and Christians, in the United States Arab population. Authors of this section include Alixa…

From the perspective of an African American woman teaching at an all-Black high school in the Mississippi Delta, the moment when she must begin teaching English grammar is the moment her students put up a fearful, sometimes hostile resistance. This paper examines the language patterns and attitudes of African Americans, as well as the educational…

Provided in this report are descriptions of the sociocultural background of Afghan refugees and other information that may be of use to those involved in sponsoring Afghan refugees in the United States. The report discusses facets of Afghan life and culture, including religion, personal relationships, family structure, and male-female relations;…

This book describes the roots, culture and learning styles of black children. It is written to promote awareness that black children differ from other children in ways which are relevant to education. These differences must be known and acted upon in order to provide black children with an appropriate education. The book contains the following…

This report provides background information on Polish refugees that may be of use to sponsors involved in Polish refugee resettlement in the United States. The report discusses economic and social conditions in Poland; the social values and political attitudes of modern Polish refugees as opposed to those of Poles who settled in the United States…

The narrative of the American Indian has pronounced social, political, and economic implications; the complete story predicates and ratifies a special place for the Indian in North American moral and political systems. But mythic structures and cultural fictions must be combated with true accounts of historical events and relationships. (AF)