Six criteria for the existence of a discourse community are given, and the genre of the reprint request (RR) is discussed in terms of the discourse communities using it. (Author/LMO)

The large-scale ongoing migration of Anglophone Caribbean natives to North America, particularly to New York City, in the last two decades, has brought an influx of Caribbean English (CE)-speaking students into US and Canadian schools and colleges. This article discusses the extent to which such students, who publicly identify themselves as native…

Examines imperatives regarding their different construction forms as well as the syntactic and pragmatic features of the imperative stem that influence the form and meaning of the tag attached to it. The conclusion is drawn that the imperative tag cannot be best analyzed as merely a frozen expression. (GLR)

The extension of the progressive aspect to stative verbs has been identified as a characteristic feature of New Varieties of English across the world, including the English of black South Africans (BSAfE). This paper examines the use of the progressive aspect in BSAfE, by doing a comparative analysis of three corpora of argumentative student…

Highlights similarities and variation in both form and function of English pidgins the world over. It is argued that English pidgins are related more by socio-historical conditions and directions of development than by details of their formal structure. Reference list includes 68 citations. (Author/DJD)

Explores an Optimality-Theoretic approach to account for observed cross-linguistic patterns of code switching that assumes that code switching strives for well-formedness. Optimization of well-formedness in code switching is shown to follow from (violable) ranked constraints. An argument is advanced that code-switching patterns emerge from…

Demonstrates code mixing as a cross-cultural phenomenon and mark of modernization. Three points are considered: the functional uses of code mixing, attitudes toward code mixing, and language change as a result of code mixing. (27 references) (Author/OD)

Code-switching (CS) patterns of bilingual English-Mandarin speakers underwent structural and functional analysis to reveal the interrelationship between form and function in bilingual CS discourse. Results indicate that certain syntactic forms are utilized to express certain functions in CS discourse and that interlocutor participation helps…

Describes some stable syntactic features of Swazi English. Discusses, among others, the use of the modal auxiliary "must," the use of "as to," the conflation of the emphatic "do" with the simple past tense, and dangling modifiers. (Author/JL)

This paper reexamines the debate over the emergence of Black South African English (BSAE) as a variety of English that is institutionalized with distinct properties. It focuses on the tense logic in Bantu languages and discourse markers that chiefly account for uniquely BSAE features. Through an indepth analysis of these linguistic properties, the…

Examines a specific type of code switching that occurs when bilingual peers make relevant their dual and simultaneous membership in the two groups symbolized by the two linguistic varieties involved in the switching pattern. Structural constraints and switching are discussed across code-switching types. (31 references) (Author/OD)

Discusses issues in the role of non-native English variants as an endonormative standard in non-English-speaking countries, including the status of innovations in the nativization process, continued use of normative standards as a point of reference, ambivalence between recognition and acceptance of non-native norms, adequacy of pedagogical…

Examines ways in which modern varieties of English around the world differ in eight specific aspects of relative clause formation, focusing on the theoretical implications of some of the phenomena, their likely origins, and possible explanations for cases in which features are shared by apparently unassociated varieties. (Author/MSE)

A study investigated the importance of three elements of intonation (tone units, key, prominence) in three readers of English radio news. Results indicate intonation is used to present the structure of information as the speaker intends it to be interpreted. Intonation functions can be categorized simply under a few discourse functions easily…

Presents an analysis of non-native English verbs of saying constructions, such as "discuss about" and "explain about," as they are realized in Nepali English. It is suggested that the analysis of Nepali English constructions offer important insights into second language acquisition and language change. (30 references)…