Attempts to show that the move to stem the popularity of Singlish (Singapore English) is another manifestation of the notion of creative destruction, currently being proposed as a strategy to improve partial destruction of existing economic ideas and structures that rapidly obsolesce with the emergence of new ones. Argues that attempts to replace…

Language instruction in secondary education is dominated by standard language ideology--a view of language that sanctions one ("standard") variety at the expense of other ("nonstandard") ones. While it is clear that students need access to privileged rhetorical forms, it is similarly clear that most current pedagogies do not facilitate such access…

This article examines ethnographic data that show Belgian adolescents of Moroccan descent stylizing Standard Dutch. Analysis addresses the importance of this variety in Belgian-Flemish society and in the school these boys attended, and shows how in interviews with Moroccan boys the hegemonic status of this variety is generally accepted. In…

In the Singlish-"Good" English debate, the use of Singlish (SCE) is viewed as an obstacle to the development of students' literacy skills in standard English (SSE) and so the practice of classroom codeswitching between the two varieties is strongly discouraged. Yet the presence of the vernacular in the classroom continues to be robust.…

This paper examines the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) in different lights and from different angles. Particular attention is focused on the following: (1) language acquisition is an intellectual process; (2) the goal for the second-language learner is mastery; (3) the standard of English in Hong Kong; and (4) "standard"…

This paper focuses on the two following questions: (1) What is the status and significance of English in a pluralistic and meritocratic society such as Singapore, in which four co-official languages are recognized (Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English) but only one opens the gates to career advancement and economic achievement; and (2) What are the…

Examines factors common to the various dialects of the French employed in Africa and demonstrates how these factors (1) determine the uniqueness of these dialects with relation to standard French, and (2) the resemblance of these dialects to African French-based Creoles. (AM)

This paper consists chiefly of a list of 50 paired sentences illustrating three styles of spoken Brazilian Portuguese: Informal, neutral and formal. (Text is in Portuguese.) (CHK)

This feature lists approved additions and revisions to the academy dictionaries of Spanish as of October and November of 1973. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

The study of dialects offers a fascinating approach to learning about language. By learning about how language varies geographically and socially, students will come to understand that language changes over time, and that language use is linked to social identity. Language variation, or dialect diversity, reflects the fact that languages change…

Presents an initial sketch of the phonology of the English spoken on Dominica, West Indies, and argues that this English is not merely an "interference phenomenon" but a true Creole. (AM)

The purpose of this article is to explore recent research into World Englishes (henceforth WEs) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), focusing on its implications for TESOL, and the extent to which it is being taken into account by English language teachers, linguists, and second language acquisition researchers. After a brief introduction…

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a number of syntactic phenomena in modern English, specifically but not exclusively in British English, that can be characterized as urban/suburban near-standard usage. These phenomena are representative of a type of feature that has to date received relatively little attention from linguists. One…

Language is not fixed and uniform, but occurs in many variants, social, occupational, etc. These correspond to various roles in society. The learner must be prepared to assume such roles, and must try to achieve practical mastery of the corresponding language variant. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Many people want a dictionary to give them information about acceptable and unacceptable word usage. The designations "correct" and "incorrect" are not adequate guides, for two reasons: what is acceptable usage does not remain the same from one generation to the next, and some uses that are not appropriate in formal English are appropriate in…