Notes that English coronal stop deletion is constrained by the preceding segment, so that stops and sibilants favor deletion more than liquids and nonsibilant fricatives. Suggests the existence of an attractive theoretical integration of categorical and variable processes in the grammar to account for the constraint. (26 references) (Author/CK)

Focuses on one aspect of the relationship between language and culture, that of cultural meaning and rhetorical style in writing across traditions of literacy. Adopts the approach of "socially realistic linguistics" and questions the assumptions of contrastive rhetoric in the context of English education around the world. (95 references)…

Provides a statistical portrait of residents of the United States who speak a language other than English, including the degree of their fluency in English. The analysis is based on the microdata files from the 1990 Census of Population. The data reveal that a continuation of current migration patterns will result in both linguistic concentration…

The conciseness and "ease of use" often attributed to North American English relative to French in standard contemporary usage is explained in terms of English morpho-syntactic structure and of the values of the classical norm and rhetoric affecting French. (Author/MSE)

Reports the findings of research on the acquisition of French intonation by native speakers of Canadian English and Japanese. Results show that cross-linguistic influence in intonation is of central importance to the learner's acquisition of the target system, and that one should not underestimate the degree of the complexity of that influence.…

According to Tom Olson, director of public affairs for U.S. English, the group plans to launch three federal initiatives in 1989: (1) reforms for bilingual education; (2) reintroduction of the English language amendment; and (3) a federal program that would encourage businesses to offer English classes in the workplace. (MLF)

Compares the cognitive representation of number of 24 American, 25 Chinese, 24 Japanese, and 40 Korean first-graders, and 20 Korean kindergartners. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean children preferred to use a construction of tens and ones to show numbers, whereas English-speaking children preferred to use a collection of units. (RJC)

Discusses the Kingsman Report (Department of Education and Science, London) on teaching English in Britain, and considers its relevance for teaching English in other countries. The many kinds of English, the labels given to them, and the centrality of the standard language are briefly reviewed. (JL)

Compared American English and Mandarin Chinese speakers' oral descriptions of a film that had sound but no dialogue. Results revealed that Chinese speakers provided at least as much chronological detail as and more social and moral interpretations than English speakers, although the English speakers offered more personal comments. (21 references)…

Examines ways in which Noah Webster's linguistic theories and work on dictionaries influenced North American English lexicography, arguing that his impact on American education was great because his spellers and dictionaries monopolized a rapidly growing market, and influence on lexicography was substantial because he insisted on the validity of…

Investigated similarities and differences between Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals using a modified version of the discourse completion test. Thirty U.S. interviews resulted in 298 refusals, and 24 Egyptian interviews resulted in 250 refusals. Results indicate both groups use similar strategies with similar frequency in making…

Evaluated attitudinal and affective responses toward accented English based on variation in role identity and intelligibility. American English was preferred; intelligible foreign accents resulted in more positive attitudes and affective responses compared to foreign accents that were unintelligible. Friends were viewed more positively compared to…

In this study, African American English (AAE)-speaking children's comprehension of 2 different types of double negative sentences was examined and contrasted with that of a comparison group of Standard American English (SAE)-speaking children. The first type of double negative, negative concord, involves 2 negative elements in a sentence that are…

Various acoustic measures of speaking rate were calculated for 40 adult speakers of New Zealand English (NZE). These measures were then compared to a group of 40 adult speakers of American English (AE). Results of the analysis identified significantly faster overall speaking rate and articulation rate for the NZE group compared to the AE group. No…

This study describes the development of a minimal-pairs word list targeting phoneme contrasts that pose difficulty for Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners of English as a second language. The target phoneme inventory was compiled from analysis of phonetic transcriptions of about 800 mono- and polysyllabic English words with examples of all the…