This article characterizes the extent and nature of the vocabulary changes in the People's Republic of China by identifying general areas of change and by observing particular features of the changes. (CLK)

Offers this proposal: (1) the public prestige dialect of the elite in a stratified community differs from the dialect(s) of the non-elite strata in at least one phonologically systematic way; (2) the cause of stratified phonological differentiation is to be sought not in purely linguistic factors but in ideology. (Author/RM)

Ongoing change in Wolof noun classification is traced by comparing nineteenth-century linguistic evidence with modern sociolinguistic data. Upwardly mobile middle-aged men of high caste tend to reduce the noun class system, whereas other speakers tend to elaborate it. (Author/RM)

This paper argues for a reconsideration of the emphasis traditionally placed on "er"-ization, or word-final retroflexion, in contemporary Mandarin language instruction outside China. Pedagogical considerations regarding choice of language variety and data on use of "er"-ization in China are considered, and the conclusion is against use of…

Learned academies deplore the deterioration of Castillian Spanish due to foreign contamination. They ignore the real source of the problem within Spain itself where everyone speaks the language badly except those in the remote towns and a few intellectuals. A ray of hope comes from the Americans. (Text is in Spanish.) (AMH)

This article shows that the language situation in Quebec cannot be characterized as a diglossic one (as defined by Ferguson) because of the links existing between Standard Canadian French and "joual." Due to political factors, Quebec is moving toward a mixed standard language. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

A study of the spoken French of 120 residents of Montreal. The researchers were interested in the linguistic and social factors influencing the use of "avoir" and "etre." Results show that this usage corresponds to a tendancy to regularize conjugations. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

This article discusses the use of the expression "a nivel de" (level with) in Colombian Spanish. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

Three teachers debate the value of a statement on student language usage that was adopted by the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the National Council of Teachers of English. (RL)

Students improved in writing ability when the teacher emphasized the differences between oral and written language. (RL)

Focuses on factors governing the choice of relative markers in restrictive relative clauses with relativized subjects from the 16th century to the present, using spoken and written data and including non-standard and regional varieties. The study addresses claims by Romaine (1982) that the "wh"-strategy has not affected spoken English,…

Describes a morphosyntactic feature of the Xining dialect that is unique among all Chinese dialects: that is, the use of a preposition to express ablative nominal relationships. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the language situation in the region of Brittany in France, where the Breton language, a Celtic rather than Romance language, is dying out but a Breton ethnic identity is growing. (Author/JL)

In Japan, recognition of the concept of "world Englishes" has gradually penetrated the thinking of college English teachers, but American Standard English or British Standard English is still the only model that Japanese high school students have to learn. Therefore, students enrolled in the Department of World Englishes of Chukyo…

Deals with problems related to the choice of an instructional model for the teaching of spoken English in India. A local model, Educated Indian English, is suggested as a realistic choice. (Author/RM)