This article gives an overview of dictionaries of African sign languages that have been published to date most of which have not been widely distributed. After an introduction into the field of sign language lexicography and a discussion of some of the obstacles that authors of sign language dictionaries face in general, I will show problems…

By drawing upon the dialogic theory of Bakhtin, I consider how register variation is represented in the children's books by the popular Greek writer Dr. Eugene Trivizas, with the aim to explore whether, and in what terms, it could be exploited for the raising of (critical) language awareness. Most sociolinguistic studies which have used literature…

This study examined principals' knowledge and perceptions of second language programs for English language learners (ELLs) operating in their schools. An open-ended survey and in-depth interviews were used to examine elementary school principals' knowledge of the second language programs implemented at their schools. The survey asked principals…

Pieter Muysken's keynote paper, "Language contact outcomes as a result of bilingual optimization strategies", undertakes an ambitious project to theoretically unify different empirical outcomes of language contact, for instance, SLA, pidgins and Creoles, and code-switching. Muysken has dedicated a life-time to researching, rather…

This article presents research that used ethnographic and sociolinguistic methods to study ways participants learn through reflection when carried out as a "circle talk." The data indicate that participants in the event (a) invoked different contextual frames that (b) implicated them in various identity positions, which (c) affected how…

This paper examines the role direct instruction in pronunciation and cultural plays in L2 literacy in linguistically diverse school settings. A bibliography is included. [An earlier edition of this paper was presented at the World Choral Symposium (6th, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2002).]

Drawing on the first phase of a larger sociolinguistic ethnography, this article explores how individual migrants of African and Chinese backgrounds expand their multilingual repertoires in Africa Town in Guangzhou, China. Focusing on two cases, I demonstrate how they maintain and develop transnational and translocal connections simultaneously…

After over 60 years of plain writing advocacy calling for government agencies to increase the clarity of official communication, the Plain Writing Act (PWA) of 2010 codified the incorporation of plain language in any federal government document for pubic use. However, no extensive evaluation of government food assistance applications has been…

The study of language contact epitomizes the dynamics of language as a system of human communication. The competing linguistic forces at work when speakers of different language varieties come into contact can be narrowed down to two basic concepts--convergence and divergence. Looking at linguistic areas using a macro approach, languages in…

This essay analyzes the place of Israel in American Jewish schooling from the beginning of the 20th century until the early years of the 21st century. It utilizes curricula, textbooks, and instructional units, as well as other primary and secondary sources to delineate four distinct periods of Israel education. The subject of Teaching Israel is…

This variational pragmatics (VP) study investigates the similarities and differences of compliment responses (CR) between Thai and Punjabi speakers of English in Thailand, focusing on the strategies used in CR when the microsociolinguistic variables are integrated into the Discourse Completion Task (DCT). The participants were 20 Thai and 20…

This study presents an overall review of the paradigms that contribute to the making and development of functional human linguistics and communication skills and the teaching of language.

This study examines a social network site (SNS) where specific interlocutors communicate by combining aspects of academic American English (AE), digital language (DL), and African American Language (AAL)--creating a digital form of AAL or digital AAL (DAAL). This article describes the features of DAAL in the discursive, online context of MySpace,…

In this short commentary piece, the authors stand back from many of the specific details in the seven papers which constitute the special issue, and offer some observations which attempt to identify and assess points of similarity and difference amongst them, under a number of different general headings. To the extent that the "sociolinguistics of…

The sociolinguistic context of Irish, a minority language which is also the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, presents a multitude of issues for consideration in relation to Irish language teaching and learning. This article reports a small-scale (n?=?12) exploratory qualitative study of the range of motivations to be observed…