Focuses on day-to-day issues of running a Mi'kmaq school. Argues that Sociolinguistics must incorporate a real-world understanding of language. (Author/VWL)

This paper, part of a larger study, focuses on a single linguistic device, the "machine-gun question," which was used by three of six participants in a Thanksgiving dinner conversation. This conversational device is characteristic of a style that seems to grow out of the need to have others approve of one's wants. It is a style…

A conference of African scholars was held in the United States in 1979 to develop a consensus and a statement about the direction that African language teaching and learning should take in this decade. African languages are among the so-called "less-commonly taught languages," and funding for their teaching and study has come from…

A remarkable aspect of the present-day American linguistic and intellectual scene is the fact that public attitudes about language reflect neither scholarly efforts in the field of linguistics nor the intellectual spirit of the twentieth century in general. Prescriptive, absolutist linguistic attitudes on the part of intelligent, educated people…

IN THIS PAPER THE AUTHOR IS PRESENTING AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH, BOTH IN THE FIELD OF LINGUISTICS AND IN OTHER FIELDS, ON THE LINGUISTIC EXPRESSION OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MEANING. THE MAJOR TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE--(1) CULTURAL COMPENTENCE (LANGUE AND PAROLE, CO-EXISTING COMPETENCES), (2) DOMAINS AND ROLE RELATIONS, (3) SPEECH FUNCTIONS,…

The revival, spread, and modernization of Hebrew, the maintenance of other languages, and variation within modern Hebrew are discussed. Courses in sociolinguistics are described, followed by a bibliography of sociolinguistics in Israel. (RM)

Deals with selected aspects of traditional Amhara verbal behavior from an ethnographic point of view. (CLK)

Studies the English-speaking and French-speaking populations of the Gaspe, focusing on socioeconomic status, mother tongue retention and bilingualism rates. This is followed by a detailed study of a small, linguistically mixed community in Gaspe East, reconstructing the community as it was in 1925 and describing it as it was in 1970. (Author/RM)

Four keynote papers, presented at an international conference on sign language research, discussed general linguistic issues of sign language, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and language acquisition. (CB)

Argues that pragmatics should expand its research interest to include not only the study of how speakers perform speech acts but also the investigation of instances where they decide not to perform them, referred to as the "opting out" choice. (CB)

Reviews two studies of the relationship between gender loading in languages and the perception of gender by speakers of those languages; the two studies reach contradictory conclusions. Examines a number of theoretical and methodological issues in linguistic relativity research and suggests avenues for further research. (SED)

Discusses how current applied and sociolinguistic research and theory, which reveals the naturalness of language variation and productive aspects of error-making, seriously challenges traditional second language learning practices and postulates. (EKN)

First part of a two-part series. Part II will appear in a future issue of Le Francais dansle Monde". (DS)

Discusses the Ilongots and their attitudes toward speech. Describes speech act theory, while questioning some aspects of it. Shows how the theory applies to Ilongot speech. (EKN)

Discusses the process of understanding of intent by which participants, through the comparative interpretation of a series of cues and symbols as they are revealed in speech, develop categories for a contextual model of communication. Argues that discourse is essentially dialogic and phenomenologically realizable. (FL)