Most studies of dialects in English-language literature have focused on works of the nineteenth century or earlier. However, modern literature can expand the scope of dialectological investigation. In John Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," use of non-standard dialect forms occurs when the author uses an unusually informal register…

A study compared and contrasted the use of openings, summational closings, and closures in Italian and U.S. business letters to examine the role of culture in international business communication. It is argued that the Italian business letter should be studied in a functional intra-cultural perspective where its meaning creates and maintains…

This paper discusses difficulties in defining Standard American English, and the question of whether there is a need to define it. Several theories on why such a dialect should be defined are described. These are: the "propriety" theory, the "psychological" theory, the "power and prestige" theory, and the "better tool" theory, the "psychological"…

Identifies three forms of racism in American historiography and literature: (1) outright anti-Black bias; (2) ignorance of Black accomplishments and the Black experience; and (3) Eurocentric "universalism," a euphemism for the refusal to discuss race and the particularities of Black history and culture. Also discusses mainstream scholars'…

Comments on the Reports of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies, advocating more involvement in the political processes, and promotion of international studies by language departments. Describes efforts in this direction under way at the University of Arizona, including an undergraduate program called Literature…

Examines the syntactic aspects of affixation and compounding, processes accounting for the great majority of new word formations documented in "6,000 Words" (1976). (AM)

Trends and cultural differences are examined in the history of the novel in France and the United States since 1906. These trends and cultural differences are proposed as a way of teaching American culture. (MSE)

Five American cultural characteristics hinder communication in foreign cultures: feelings of Anglo-American superiority, a myopic and insular mentality due to geographic isolation, lack of international perspective, chronic anti-intellectualism, and snobism attributed to the speaking of foreign languages by those who do not. Professionals teaching…

A review of the literature reveals obvious cultural differences between black and white members of American society. Further analysis indicates that the culture of black Americans has fostered the development of a number of characteristics that would help them to function in corporate cultures that are populated primarily by white Americans.…

One way of meeting the goals of the English composition course, both humanistic and pragmatic, is through a combination of individualized instruction and focus on selected aspects of linguistics. Individualized instruction, using in-class tutors and writing notebooks, allows for a variety of activities that make better use of the scheduled class…

This paper discusses the concept of error in the learning of the phonology of a second language and argues that the concept of error must be viewed as a positive element, an initiation of the process of successive approximations toward the correct phonetic realization. Based on the idea that interference between two languages generates a…

To determine the ability of both black and white children to repeat sentences which conform to the grammatical rules of standard versus nonstandard English, and to examine how attendance at racially and socioeconomically integrated versus segregated schools affected performance in standard and nonstandard English, third and fourth graders were…

After discussing the relatively recent nature of research on women's language, and the lack of an integrating framework for such research, the studies in this field are reviewed. Specific topics considered include the use of standard or prestige forms, phonology, syntax, lexicon, discourse-level rules and usages, and attitudes toward women's…

The paper describes the system of rater comments used in an American College Testing (ACT) Program English language test designed for use with Japanese secondary school students learning English as a foreign language. The writing portion of the test consists of two short essays, each scored by two native speakers of North American English, using a…

The Newberry Library, (Chicago, Illinois) lays claim to holding within the Edward E. Ayer collection the finest singler collection of books on the culture and history of native america. This paper discusses the mandates and challenges that confronted the Newberry staff when it mounted its quincentennial exhibition entitled, "American in…