Speech play reflects a degree of selectivity and creativity beyond ordinary language use. Consistent with the approach of ethnography, each culture may have its own definition of speech play. Articles collected in this volume investigate speech play as language structure--"Play Languages: Implications for (Socio) Linguistics,""Secret Play…

A non-structural model is proposed for quantifying and analyzing the dynamics of language attrition, particularly among immigrants in a second language environment, based on examination of disfluencies (hesitations, errors, and repairs). The first chapter discusses limitations of the conventional synchronic textual approach to analyzing language…

An attempt is made in this book to state some of the features of and dispel some of the myths about nonstandard English, particularly the dialects of English spoken by many black Americans, and to consider alternative policies that might be adopted regarding varied forms of English. The chapters of the book include "What Is the Problem?""Is…

This text was developed to enable students of Spanish to use idiomatic expressions from the early learning stages to the more advanced levels. Students can use idiomatic Spanish as soon as they have learned regular -ER, -AR, and -IR verbs, and as they become more proficient, they can apply their knowledge of the irregular verbs in studying other…