Evidence exists that, in the past, phonetic variants functioned as sociolinguistic variables, just as they do today, at least in societies with comparable stratificational patterns. This paper presents the significant details of the sociolinguistic environment within which the beginnings of the Great English Vowel Shift were embedded. An attempt…

This paper attempts to elucidate the relationship between linguistic form, interactional strategies and social meaning on the basis of a detailed study of a natural conversation. The investigation is based on a conversation recorded in an institution for Mexican immigrants by a linguist, a native American of Mexican ancestry, and program advisor…

The essays in this monograph are concerned with ways to build on the linguistic diversity found in the schools, turning to educational advantage the characteristics of the multicultural classroom. The following essays are included: (1) "Recent Trends in Bilingual Education" by V. John-Steiner and M. Cooper; (2) "Code-Switching in…

This volume contains five essays on both theory and practical learning techniques for bilingual education and the study of English as a Second Language. In "Bilingual Education: An International, Sociolinguistical Perspective," Joshua Fishman discusses transitional bilingualism, monoliterate bilingualism, partial and full biliterate bilingualism,…

A study was undertaken to determine whether young children are aware of sociolinguistic and social interactional differences in language use and of the appropriateness of varied linguistic forms in particular situations, roles and relationship. The speech of 24 children ranging in age from 3 years, 9 months to 7 years, 1 month was recorded in…

A pilot experiment aimed at discovering sex-specific language patterns as exhibited by males and females in conversation with same-sex and other-sex partners falsified the hypothesis frequently stated in the literature that males hold the dominant role in mixed-sex verbal interaction, at least in regard to college students. Twelve dyadic…

Two theoretical orientations-schema theory and cultural norms for the use of language unify this multidisciplinary collection of papers examining discourse. Chapters by Adams and Collins; Warren; Nicholas and Trabasso; Stein and Glenn; and Freedle and Hale highlight the application of schema theory to the study of story recall, reading, and the…

The difference between "foreign language learning" and "second language learning" is not clear because writers do not agree on the criteria to be used in making the distinction. Moreover, there is a lack of empirical evidence to justify the use of the two terms. The purpose of this study is: (1) to review the various criteria…

In the Philippines, school children must contend with the use of English and Pilipino as media of instruction. Since they are taught by teachers who have not mastered English, either, the result is predictable: rote learning. In this process, pupils also learn the hierarchical authority structure of the school system, that is, the rules governing…

The purpose of this study was to determine how status was indicated by the use of directives in homogeneous groups of adolescent females and whether differences in status designation existed which could be attributed to either class or ethnicity. Three groups of ten to twelve-year-olds (middle-class white, working-class white, and working-class…

Some differences between Standard English (SE) and "Black English" (BE) have important consequences in communication of messages. The authors cite as an example the "habitual" function of the finite verb "be" which has no equivalent in SE. They point out that "simplification" of the English of the Bible may result in a "translation" which is…

The author describes three current approaches to the problems of nonstandard English and examines the motivations behind their recommendations. The traditional negative correction to standard he calls "eradication," based on ethnocentric prescription. "Biloquialism" offers the student the option of adjusting phonology, grammar,…

This volume is a collection of articles on various aspects of applied linguistics as it relates to language teaching. Chapter 1, by S. Pit Corder, entitled "Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching," gives a short, general survey of applied linguistics in language teaching. Chapters 2-5 give an account of the main concepts in what is now called…

This article reports the results of research carried out in London using five-year-old children of working class and middle class backgrounds. Speech samples were collected and compared on the basis of grammatical categories. It was discovered that working class children used more pronouns than their middle class counterparts in third person…

The extent to which the language planning that has been pursued in many localities and in many periods has been guided by nationalism, that is, by "...the social movements, attitudes, and ideologies which characterize the behavior of nationalities engaged in the struggle to achieve, maintain or enhance their position in the world" (Wirth 1936) is…