The three books under review show what flux the English language has undergone and continues to undergo, and how stable grammatical theory has been until recent times. (Author)

Brief report on West German linguistic publications, intended especially for American linguists. Explanatory notes and a bibliography are included. (VM)

Version of a paper read at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English, NOvember 1969, in Washington, D.C. (DS)

Argues that news-writing instruction that relies on explicit rules is inadequate because: (1) rule violations are common; (2) some rules work well only in particular situations; and (3) some rules overgeneralize. Identifies the difficulty of teaching students to develop a "good ear" for writing. Concludes that instruction must balance…

The nature of grammar instruction is examined, and traditional instruction as explanation plus "output" practice is questioned. It is suggested that an input-oriented approach would be more effective. A type of input-based instruction called "processing instruction" is outlined. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/LB)

By identifying the cultural roots of traditional grammar, a better understanding may occur as to why grammar will continue to be taught the way it is. The idea of "grammar as cultural heritage" begins with language and literature studies, which were the foundation of middle and upper class Roman schooling and included reading, writing, listening,…

Part of the Grade Teacher special report, "Linguistics and the Language Arts.

Strengths and weaknesses of generative grammar are examined by an apologist for the traditionalists. Criticism is directed toward difficulties encountered by the layman in comprehending texts on linguistic theories, linguists' use of jargon and pet formulas, and unwieldy amounts of terminology constantly being developed. Special attention is…

Designed to provide elementary, secondary, and college English teachers with a basic knowledge of the history and structure of the English language, this book is composed of three sections. Part 1 provides an orientation to linguistics by analyzing the basic principles and the scope of language study, and discussing values and perspectives in the…

This article argues that morphosemantic sets are a consequence of general properties of language structure. Thus the sets serve as a framework for advancing the study of motivation as a functional feature of language use. (Author/NCR)

Discusses the subtle changes of meaning evoked by different sentence positions of "hace"-clauses. Analyzes the semantics of "hace" + TIME sentences which are the equivalent of English "ago." A presentation suitable for the beginning learner, using "since" + TIME as the English translation of the "hace"-clause followed by "que" is suggested.…

Critiques Carstair's Paradigm Economy Principle (PEP) with regard to historical linguistics. The principle "one form, one meaning" (OFOM) is contrasted with PEP as providing a more satisfactory explanation for occurrences of morphological change. Latin and Maori paradigms are used as examples. (Author/LMO)

Describes, through letters and narrative, how a teacher struggled with a stubborn adult student to teach him how to write. (SRT)