bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The users and uses of English in Japan
Authors: MORROW PHILLIP R.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper describes several aspects of the current use of English by Japanese speakers. First, a brief sketch is presented which outlines the historical circumstances that influenced the current use of English. The following section examines the use of English loanwords in terms of their phonological, orthographic and semantic properties. It also discusses the formation of loanwards, speakers’ attitudes toward them, and motivations for using them. The use of loanwords is related to theoretical issues of code‐mixing, code‐switching and bilingualism, and these issues are explored in relation to the case of Japanese English. The next section describes the teaching of English in the education system and the extent to which teaching methodologies and materials have been determined by the form of school entrance examinations. Finally, there is a section which discusses the status of English in terms of official support and recognition, and investigates the typological classification of Japanese English as a performance variety.
PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Authors: Prakasam V.
Published: February 2007

The Sociolinguistics of Society. Ralph Fasold
TEACHING LANGUAGES: METHODS AND MATERIALS
Authors: Berns Margie
Published: February 2007

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A Description and Analysis. Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers

Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Diane Larsen‐Freeman
Japanese and English: borrowing and contact
Authors: STANLAW JAMES
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the two kinds of English extant in Japan today. These are ‘Japanized English,’ based on the use of English loanwords spoken by Japanese among themselves, and ‘the Japanese variety of English,’ spoken as a second language with foreigners. It is argued that these varieties have their origins in three lines of linguistic contact between Japan and the West (particularly America and Britain) during the past century: a line of pidginization, a line of borrowing, and a line of formal English instruction. By examining the unique results of this contact situation, insight can be gained on both the dynamics of Japanese culture and the viability of English as an international language.
Language transfer and the Nigerian writer of English
Authors: GOKE‐PARIOLA BIODUN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study discusses the processes of language transfer as used by Nigerian writers in English. These processes are illustrated with examples from the noun phrase, the verb phrase, and word formation. The primary focus is on two Nigerian creative writers, i.e. Chinua Achebe (Arrow of God) and Amos Tutuola (The Palm‐wine Drinkard). It is shown that the two writers represent two distinct attempts to cope with the problem of expressing a native cultural experience in a non‐native language, through the transfer of linguistic structures and sociocultural concepts expressed in the first language. Such a transfer—conscious or unconscious—is thus a valuable strategy for a creative writer. The examples show that the search for translation equivalents for culture‐bound items and form in Nigerian English is a necessary stage in the process of nativization of an institutionalized variety of English.
Pedagogical grammar: on the interface of syntax and pragmatics
Authors: BOUTON LAWRENCE F.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The central theme of this paper is that pedagogical grammar must be a marriage of syntax and pragmatics. We illustrate this fact by showing how this marriage is necessary to an effective explanation of two different characteristics of yes/no questions: (1) the relationship between the function that the question serves and the short‐answer forms that are appropriate responses to it, and (2) the interaction of assertive and nonassertive forms with the context in which a question occurs to generate what we perceive as the speaker's purpose in uttering the question and the nature of the answer that he or she expects. Without input from pragmatics these explanations cannot be developed at all. For reasons such as these, it is essential that we develop as thorough an integration of syntax and pragmatics as we can as the source of the pedagogical grammar we use in our classrooms.
Utilizing Pakistani newspaper English to teach grammar
Authors: BAUMGARDNER ROBERT J.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the use of local English‐language newspapers as pedagogical aids in the English Language Teaching classroom. Various advantages and disadvantages of using newspapers in the classroom are discussed with focus on the often‐cited objection by teachers in Pakistan that local newspapers contain too many errors and should therefore not be used pedagogically. Data on adjective, verb and noun complementation are presented from Pakistani newspapers to show that many of the so‐called ‘errors’ found in local newspapers are in reality part of a nativized Pakistani linguistic system. This paper then discusses language‐focused classroom activities with newspapers which would serve to make students aware of differences between their own nativized varieties of English and native Englishes. Finally, this paper calls for more linguistic tolerance on the part of teachers in both the East and the West in the acceptance of local varieties of English.
Power and politics in the content of grammar books: the example of India
Authors: SINGH FRANCES B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the various connections four grammar books [J. Nesfield, Idiom, Grammar, and Synthesis for High Schools (1895); L. Tipping, Matriculation High School English Grammar of Modern English Usage (1933); P. C. Wren and H. Martin, High School English Grammar and Composition (1954); C. D. Sidhu, An Intensive Course in English (1976)] posit between the English language and Indian society. The sentences of Nesfield's text propagate the notion of British supremacy and impose a view of history which justifies colonial rule. It is a view which corresponds to the contemporary conception of English as an imposed foreign language, the language of political domination and a synonym for it. Tipping's position is that English is to be assimilated to the Indian context. The revised edition of Wren and Martin's grammar follows in the Tipping tradition. English is no longer seen as something imposed, but as something in the process of being Indianized. Sidhu's text is radically different from the others. It reveals a familiarity with the way life is experienced in India. Sidhu's grammar proves that English language teaching in India can be taught through and express Indian experiences. In so doing, the English language becomes the opposite of its historical role: a mode of communication which expresses Indians’ consciousness of themselves as citizens of an independent country.
Toward a lexicon of South African Indian English
Authors: MESTHRIE RAJEND
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is two‐fold. Firstly, it reports on the lexical characteristics of a hitherto little studied ‘New English’ variety—South African Indian English. It points to lexical affinities with, and divergences from, other varieties of English in South Africa, at least one of which has been well studied in terms of its lexis. It also focuses on lexical similarities between English in India and the South African dialect under scrutiny. Preliminary comparisons with pidgins and creoles world‐wide as well as with other expatriate Indian Englishes are offered. Secondly, the study suggests some useful ways in which a lexicographer of a New English variety that has arisen out of a process of language shift might proceed, especially in situations involving several ‘ancestral’ languages, and consequently several sublects varying according to domain, speaker background, formality etc.
LANGUAGE RIGHTS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE UNITED STATES
Authors: PIETRO ROBERT J. DI
Published: February 2007

The Question of an Official Language: Language Rights and the English Language Amendment. Focus article and rebuttal essay. By David F. Marshall with comments by others.
Text structure of Korean speakers’ argumentative essays in English
Authors: CHOI YEON HEE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines text structure of argumentative texts in Korean speakers’ argumentative writing in English, compared with native speakers’ writing in Korean as well as native speakers’ writing in English. The text structure of 11 essays on the three argumentative topics given to American and Korean students is analyzed using the interactive text analysis model elaborated by Aston and Tirkkonen‐Condit. The results of text structure analysis using the interactional approach which is based on speech act theory show that the dominant structure of the English essays of native speakers is claim + justification + conclusion, while no one pattern represents the writing of native speakers of Korean in either their first language or in English. Furthermore, essays by the Koreans in their native language are structurally non‐linear as compared to English essays of native speakers. One out of the five English essays of Korean speakers exhibit the non‐linear structure. There are, however, similarities in the English and Korean essays, e.g. in the three basic components of text structure—claim, justification and conclusion. These common features suggest that there may be a set of universal features characterizing argumentative texts.
Developing discourse types in non‐native English: strategies of gender in Hindi and Indian English
Authors: VALENTINE TAMARA M.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study analyzes spoken and written Hindi and Indian English texts and explores the relationship between gender and communication. It suggests that the features which characterize oral discourse are common in written discourse. This observation supports the research which indicates a relationship between literary language and the language of ordinary conversation in English. The inventories of features associated with each discourse type are examined in informal spoken Hindi and Indian English female same‐sex conversations and in written same‐sex dialogues in the creative writings of Hindi and Indian English authors. An analysis of these interactive texts shows that some of the features which are expected in informal spoken discourse are also shared in the creative written language. As discussed in various studies, discourse conventions are transcreated by creative authors in non‐native English writings. A study of this kind furthers the understanding of language use across cultures, provides cross‐cultural and cross‐linguistic data for a discussion of language variation of female and male speakers, offers important information for language learners and language teachers, and raises a challenge to the TESOL profession.
The development of the expression of temporality in the written English narratives of monolingual American and bilingual Mexican pupils
Authors: McCLURE ERICA , PLATT ELIZABETH
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: In this study we examine to what extent the linguistic expression of temporal relationships by children receiving long‐term explicit second‐language instruction parallels that previously described for instructed and noninstructed adult learners, and to what extent it resembles that of children who are native speakers. The 80 subjects for the study are divided into four groups by grade level, fourth vs ninth, and native language, English (Americans) vs Spanish (Mexicans). The data analyzed consist of written narratives elicited with two silent films. Analytic categories include: tense, aspect, subordination, temporal conjunctions, temporal adverbials, lexical tying, and juxtaposition. Analysis of variance for these variables suggests that, while children who are nonnative English speakers show the same general pattern of use of syntactic, lexical and discursive devices for expressing temporality as do children who are native speakers, with respect to the use of some temporal markers they exhibit a developmental lag. There is also some evidence of linguistic transfer in verb tense and aspect while with respect to past‐tense morphology the performance of children who are nonnative speakers of English is qualitatively different from that of children who are native speakers but similar to that of both instructed and noninstructed adult second‐language learners.
English and Chamorro on Guam
Authors: UNDERWOOD ROBERT
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Chamorro, the indigenous language of Guam, has declined over the past several decades under the pressure of English, the language of government, education, business, and the media. Attempts to cultivate and revive Chamorro have relied on the emotional connection between Chamorro and ethnic identity. This paper argues that attempts to revive the language need to be based on an examination of the English language aspirations and behavior of the Chamorro people, and on the ideology of English as it has developed in the past several decades in Guam.
Self, womanhood and social order in Narayan's fiction
Authors: WICKRAMAGAMAGE CARMEN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Narayan's preference for a stable social order, as it is incorporated into the framework of his novels as both a structural device and reverential representations of community life, has been variously dealt with. This paper considers the effect of such a predilection upon his portrayal of the Indian women who are beginning to enjoy a greater measure of autonomy and social mobility in the context of changing socioeconomic structures than were available to them under the traditional patriarchal culture. Four of Narayan's novels will be used to discuss the nature and extent of this unfortunate complicity with a decidedly patriarchal social order even as he strives to dilute it with a degree of sympathy for the oppressed women.
Culture and identity in literature of the South Pacific
Authors: TAWAKE SANDRA KISER
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper offers an interpretation of fiction written by South Pacific writers Albert Wendt and Witi Ihimaera. Wendt and Ihimaera depict in their literature South Pacific islanders living separated from their past and its traditions, and therefore living separated from their own identities. Both writers create characters who struggle to find meaning in the context of an island microcosm that is made emblematic of the human condition. The resolution of the individual's quest for identity and meaning is shown to lie in an integration of the past with the present through the connections individuals are able to make to the lives of their fathers.
Offers and requests: performance by Japanese learners of English
Authors: FUKUSHIMA SAEKO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates how Japanese university students performed in English, when offering something to someone and when making requests, in situations where the addresser and the addressee are equal in status, and the degrees of closeness between them are different. The performances by the Japanese subjects were compared with those of native English‐speaking people. The major findings of this study include: (1) the Japanese subjects could not use appropriate expressions according to situations, even when they wanted to be more polite to the addressees; and (2) the expressions used by the Japanese subjects were too direct in most situations, and sounded rude. This meant that the Japanese subjects could not express their intentions in English, when they wanted to differentiate expressions under various situations. The results of this study revealed that the pragmatic competence of Japanese learners of English needs to be reinforced in their language instruction.
Toward a communicative program for English majors in Japan: the case at Sugiyama
Authors: ATKINS RONDA KAY , TANAKA SACHIKO ODA
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on curriculum changes in the Department of English at a private university in Japan. Section 2 deals with the old curriculum which is typical of most universities in Japan. Sections 3–6 focus on the three main features of the new curriculum: the Freshman English Program, the content study, and graduation papers or theses. This paper concludes with some objective and subjective assessments of the new curriculum.
World Englishes and applied linguistics
Authors: KACHRU BRAJ B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper addresses the issue of the relationship between world Englishes (WE) and applied linguistics. The diffusion of English is seen in terms of three concentric circles: the Inner Circle (L1 varieties, e.g. the USA and the UK), the Outer Circle (ESL varieties), and the Expanding Circle (EFL varieties). The discussion is essentially restricted to the Outer Circle in which the institutionalized non‐native varieties of English are used in multilingual and multicultural contexts. The discussion is about four major issues: theoretical, applied, societal and ideological, and focuses specifically on: (a) attitudes concerning the ontological status of the varieties of English, (b) generalizations about the creative strategies used for learning English in multilingual/multicultural contexts, (c) descriptions of the pragmatic and interactional contexts of WEs and their implications, (d) assumptions concerning multicultural identities of WEs, (e) assumptions about the role of English in initiating ideological and social change, and (f) assumptions about communicative competence in English. This paper is divided into the following sections: ontological issues, conflict between idealization and reality, acquisition and creativity, the ‘leaking paradigms’, cultural content of English, ideological change, where applied linguistics fails the Outer Circle of English, and types of fallacies about WEs. This study does not view applied linguistics as divorced from social concerns: the concerns of relevance to the society in which we live. This view, then, entails social responsibility and accountability for research in applied linguistics.
Progress in English computational lexicography
Authors: SINCLAIR J. M. , KIRBY D. M.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper is a progress report of the Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary project. The project, initiated in 1979–1980, pioneered modern computing techniques in lexicography research. The acronym COBUILD used for the project stands for Collins the publishers, and Birmingham University International Language Database. This report discusses the corpus—a collection of 20 million words of text—and presents the historical, theoretical and methodological bases for the project. This report briefly discusses how, for example, the following issues concerning the data were tackled: meaning, grammar, definitions and explanations, and examples. In addition to discussing the main compilation process, this paper also discusses how structural forms of the language are related to meanings and uses, and how considerations of frequency affect the description. The special problems related to indication of stress and rhythm are also discussed. This paper concludes with observations on the wider implications of the COBUILD project.
Word stress in Nigerian English
Authors: ATOYE RAPHAEL O.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the pattern of word stress in Nigerian Standard English. It shows that stress assignment is different in Nigerian Standard English compared to British Standard English. This paper claims that the major reason for this difference is a phenomenon called progressive stress shift.
Second language readers’ comprehension of a poem: exploring contextual and linguistic aspects
Authors: BARNITZ JOHN G. , SPEAKER RICHARD B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Seventy‐three ESL students from three groups (seventh‐grade, university intermediate, and university advanced) served as subjects in an exploratory psycholinguistic experiment designed to investigate the roles of context and selected linguistic structures on comprehension. Subjects read a free‐verse poem in one of three context conditions: full context, in which both a picture and the poem's title accompanied the poem; partial context, in which only the title accompanied it; and no context, in which neither picture nor title accompanied it. In free‐ and probed‐recall results, no significant effects were found for context. Group membership was significant for probed inferential recall of micropopositions. High‐level propositions in the text hierarchy were better recalled than low‐level propositions. No interaction reached significance. These findings suggest that ESL students tend to focus on literal language and need additional instruction in making inferences.
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Authors: NELSON CECIL L.
Published: February 2007

From Error to Intelligibility: a Study of the Japanese Learner's Perception and Production of English. By Mineo Suenobu, in association with Kazuo Kanzaki and Shigeru Yamane.
Englishized style repertoire in modern Japanese literature
Authors: ONO REIKO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the ‘style repertoire’ in modern Japanese literature and investigates the roles played by English borrowings in modern Japanese literary works. It first presents a brief summary of a previous study of English borrowings in Japanese, one of the implications of which motivated this paper. The second part of this paper describes the style repertoire in the context of Japanese modern literature and contemporary Japanese. The final section examines what kinds of stylistic effects the use of English borrowings has produced in modern Japanese literature. The results of the study show that, in some modern Japanese stories, English borrowings have played important roles such as special‐association providers, in‐group‐identity markers, and attention attractors.
The Scots—bilingual or just confused?
Authors: McARTHUR TOM
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The Scots occupy a paradoxical position in the English‐speaking world: a nation that has used the modern standard language since it developed in the seventeenth century alongside a very different variety called, among other things, the King's Scots and the guid Scots tongue. This other speech is regarded by some as no more than a northern dialect of English, by others as a distinct language with dialects of its own, a literature that dates from the Middle Ages, and such institutions as national dictionaries. The people of contemporary Scotland use and mix Scots and English every day, as they have done for centuries. This paper considers whether and to what extent the majority of Scotland's people can be described as bilingual between two distinct ‘English languages’.
Illocutionary acts across languages: editorializing in Egyptian English
Authors: REYNOLDS DUDLEY W.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper provides a description of the pragmatics of language use in Egyptian English newspaper editorials. Editorials are defined as ‘acts of passing judgement’, and Searle's (1976) taxonomy of illocutionary acts is used to compare editorials from Egyptian English, American English, and Egyptian Arabic newspapers. The results show that Egyptian English conforms neither to the American English nor to Egyptian Arabic patterns with regard to the use of representatives and declaratives. It uses more declaratives and fewer representatives than American English, but fewer declaratives and more representatives than Egyptian Arabic. Qualitative as well as quantitative differences in the usage of the illocutionary acts are discussed, and it is hypothesized that American English places more emphasis on Grice's (1975) maxim of quality, while Egyptian English places more emphasis on the maxim of quantity.
Bilingual lexicography in Japan: the Dutch‐Japanese to the English‐Japanese dictionary
Authors: NAGASHIMA DAISUKE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the earlier bilingual lexical traditions in Japan with special reference to Japanese and European languages. The earliest contact was with Portuguese which resulted in Vocabylario da lingoa Iapam (1603), then came Western influence on Yedo (Tokyo) particularly with the Dutch. This contact resulted in several translations and bilingual lexical lists. The contact with English started in Nagasaki around 1809 and then, slowly, Dutch gave way to English. This study discusses the transition from the Dutch‐Japanese to the English‐Japanese dictionaries.
The pragmatics of street hustlers' English in Egypt
Authors: STEVENS PAUL B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: A frequent source of irritation for tourists or foreign residents in Egypt comes from their interaction with street hustlers of different kinds. Simple, well intentioned greetings or offers of services or even offers of help often give offense inadvertently and are negatively perceived by the visitor. This paper proposes to characterize how some of these hustlers’ routines operate and to provide a pragmatic analysis of what makes them surprising or unusual from an American English speaker's perspective. Results of the study indicate that cross‐cultural pragmatic failure between vendors and foreigners stems from different perceptions about such factors as who may speak and when, the degree of personal involvement, what constitutes an imposition, and such matters as privacy and sincerity.
Englishization of Japanese and acculturation of English to Japanese culture
Authors: IWASAKI YASUFUMI
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper first discusses Englishization of Japanese, focusing on the use of English borrowings in newspaper editorials. Unlike advertising texts (Takashi, 1990) and modern literature (Ono, 1992), newspaper editorials do not exploit the considerable variation in the knowledge of English among the Japanese. Rather, they cope with the variation by using mainly established borrowings and by adding glosses to nonce borrowings in order to maintain the intelligibility. Second, this paper discusses acculturation of English to Japanese culture by comparing the descriptions of things peculiar to Japan in two Japanese‐English dictionaries, whose publication dates are sixteen years apart. The sharp contrast between the two dictionaries indicates the change in the Japanese people's attitude toward English and the increasing awareness among lexicographers of the fact that they should not resign themselves to simply giving near equivalents in English to words for things Japanese. However, the acculturation process is still confined to a class of words representing things Japanese, and this shows that the Japanese variety of English remains a performance variety.
Modality in Ghanaian and American personal letters
Authors: OWUSU‐ANSAH LAWRENCE K.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper reports a comparative study of the ways in which modality as a semantic feature is expressed in one nonnative variety of English and one native variety of English. A set of twenty‐two informal letters written by Americans were compared with another set of twenty‐two written by Ghanaians in respect of the distribution and use of modal words and expressions in the data. Given other differences such as a reading index for the American set of 11.9 grade level and 7.9 grade level for the Ghanaian set, it was hypothesized that the two varieties would make different use of modal words and expressions. The results of the analysis of the data using Analysis of variance (Anova) showed that there was no significant difference between the two sets of data in the distribution and use of modal auxiliary verbs. This finding has important implications for the description of native and nonnative varieties of English which is discussed in the paper.
The interlanguage metaphor and language assessment
Authors: DAVIDSON FRED
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The concept of ‘interlanguage’ is addressed with special attention to language assessment. Interlanguage assumes a single target norm, and this paper contends that major language tests uphold that norm. The paper challenges testing's role in the concept of interlanguage by challenging the mechanism by which such tests uphold that single norm and thereby suppress linguistic variety. It is a mechanism which operates by selecting for test items that adhere to a normal‐curve‐derived testing model. To counter such a mechanism, the paper argues that (1) testing companies should be challenged with hard statistical data that shows their tests to be multidimensional, and (2) reasoning in favor of self‐directed testing can further show the monolithic nature of major tests. The paper concludes with an appeal to language test users (as opposed to test developers) to participate in the reform of language assessment.
English and Shona in Zimbabwe
Authors: BERNSTEN JAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Most efforts to teach non‐Western languages focus on their complex phonological and syntactic systems. However, students of languages like Shona, a Bantu language spoken in Zimbabwe, also need to learn about the sociolinguistic setting in which the language is spoken. In the case of Shona, in the largely monolingual rural area of Zimbabwe, foreign speakers are able to speak the language in almost all situations, reflecting local use of Shona to meet formal, consultative and informal functions. However, many native speakers of Shona in urban areas have a multilingual repertoire, reflecting the pattern of English/Shona diglossia which is a legacy of the British colonial period. For these speakers, Shona marks their ethnicity, while English identifies them as educated citizens of the world. Foreign language learners need to know that there are some situations in which using Shona will not be judged as appropriate – when, indeed, it may be deemed offensive by some interlocutors. Only a knowledge of the roles of English and Shona in the culture will enable learners to make the appropriate language choices in the target language environment.
DIALECTS OF ENGLISH
Authors: Stalker James C.
Published: February 2007

Dialects of English: Studies in Grammatical Variation. Peter Trudgill and J. K. Chambers.
English loanwords in Japanese
Authors: KAY GILLIAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: As a result of the economic, political and cultural influence of Britain and the US, and the emergence of English as an international language, many world languages have absorbed loanwords from English, especially during the twentieth century. Japanese contains thousands of such borrowings, many of which are well‐established and in universal use. A domestic phonetic script is available to both represent and distinguish non‐native sounds. This paper outlines the historical and cultural contexts of borrowing from English into Japanese, processes of nativization, and functions served by English loanwords. Orthographical, phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic modifications to borrowed words aid their assimilation into the native language. However, linguistic and cultural borrowing is to some extent kept separate from native language and culture, resulting in a Japanese/Western dichotomy in Japanese life and language.
Crosscultural comparison of writing standards: American ESL and Japanese EFL
Authors: CONNOR‐LINTON JEFF
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study compares the evaluative criteria which American ESL instructors and Japanese EFL instructors applied in rating ten compositions written by adult L1 Japanese EFL students. The instructors quantitatively rated the compositions and then stated their qualitative reasons for their ratings of each composition. The evaluative criteria of the two groups are assumed to indirectly reflect their respective instructional goals and emphases, and thereby reflect their respective societies’ theories of the uses and values of written English. In addition, the comparison may help Japanese and American English instructors to negotiate differences between the two educational contexts. In brief, the Japanese EFL teachers focused on matters of accuracy (content, word choice, and grammar), while the American ESL teachers focused on both intersentential features of the discourse and specific intrasentential grammatical features.

The results also underscore an important methodological point: quantitative similarities in ratings may mask significant qualitative differences in the reasons for those ratings. That is, the American ESL and Japanese EFL instructors in this study, although agreeing substantially in their end‐result ratings, followed different processes in arriving at those similar ratings and in fact disagree about what constitutes strong or weak writing.
Comparative insights into comparison
Authors: PETERS PAM
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Using data from the British and Australian components of the ICE corpus, this paper describes and quantifies aspects of the comparative clauses conjoined with correlative than and as. The data is compared in three ways, to show:

patterns of distribution for the two constructions;

their spread across different genres of speech and writing;

the similarity or otherwise of their use in Britain and Australia.

The data is also used to comment on theoretical constructs such as the symmetrical scale proposed for scalar comparatives, and the extent to which the comparative clause expresses the yardstick for comparison. In both British and Australian data, the distribution of correlative than and as clauses proves quite asymmetrical; and the fact that comparative clauses consist regularly of anaphoric, exophoric and elliptical constituents means that their informational content is limited. Strategic changes vested in the comparative verb phrase (e.g. in modality, aspect, polarity) and the quite frequent use of mental process verbs suggest that the role of such clauses is interpersonal rather than referential, and designed to provide alternative perspectives on the discourse. The findings show that the scalar comparative clause does not regularly work as the yardstick for comparison (in the same way as the comparative phrase), and that grammatical accounts of it need to recognize its discoursal and rhetorical functions.
Markedness and fossilization in the interlanguage phonology of Brunei English
Authors: MOSSOP JONATHAN W.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the interlanguage (IL) phonology of Malay‐speaking Bruneian students attending Universiti Brunei Darussalam. A complete year group of 55 students with different proficiency levels was recorded interacting communicatively and the data analyzed in order to explore the extent to which markedness relationships in phonology can be used to predict learning difficulties and to investigate the extent to which this particular IL phonology has stabilized. The focus of the study was on consonant clusters, both final and initial, and the voicing contrast. The analysis of the data suggests that markedness can explain why some features of the (target language) TL phonology are more easily acquired than others. However, there was no significant difference between the IL phonology of the less proficient and more proficient students when lexical roots were examined. This suggests that the IL phonology in question has stabilized. Finally, this paper relates the findings to research into new varieties of English and suggests reasons for phonological stabilization.
The paradigms of marginality
Authors: KACHRU BRAJ B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The acquisition of English in its various functions and canons is now a major motivation for the increase in multilingualism around the world. This paper addresses the responses and reactions to this linguistic reality and varied perceptions about it. It argues that most linguists have marginalized multilingualism and neglected to face the complexities of multilinguals’ language behavior, being reluctant to modify, reformulate, and reassess our favorite paradigms of language acquisition, linguistic creativity, language function, and language contact. The result of this attitude is the paradigms of marginality. The study elaborates on three paradigms of marginality and concludes that we must be cynical about our cherished views and attitudes toward world Englishes. This discussion of the paradigms of marginality may help to purge this academic intransigence.
Atrophic Changes of Gastric Mucosa Are Caused by Helicobacter pylori Infection Rather Than Aging: Studies in Asymptomatic Japanese Adults
Authors: Asaka Masahiro , Kato Mototsugu , Kudo Mineo , Katagiri Masao , Nishikawa Keiko , Koshiyama Hiromi , Takeda Hiroshi , Yoshida Jun‐Ichi , Graham David Y.
Published: February 2007

Background.The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of aging and Helicobacter pylori infection on the gastric mucosa in asymptomatic Japanese adults.

Materials and Methods.Eighty‐five asymptomatic healthy adults were recruited from a health‐screening center in Sapporo. All subjects underwent endoscopy and gastric biopsy, and serum was obtained for IgG antibodies to H. pylori, serum gastrin, and pepsinogen levels.

Results.The prevalence of atrophic change of the gastric mucosa assessed by pathological findings increased with age (49% in the 30‐ to 39‐year‐old group compared to 89% in those 60 years and older, p < .001). The frequency of intestinal metaplasia also increased with age (38% in the 30‐ to 39‐year‐old group compared to 82% in those 60 years and older, p < .001). In contrast, the frequency of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia was extremely low in the H. pylori seronegative group regardless of age. Mean serum gastrin level in H. pylori‐positive adults was significantly greater than in those who were H. pylori‐negative (114.3 ± 11.2 compared to 65.8 ± 6.5 pg/ml, p < .03). The serum pepsinogen I‐II ratio was significantly lower in those with H. pylori infection than in those without (3.1 compared to 6.6, p < .0001).

Conclusions.These results suggest that the chronological changes in the gastric mucosa in Japanese individuals are either entirely related to H. pylori infection or the process is greatly accelerated by H. pylori infection.
Is Helicobacter pylori Transmitted from Cats to Humans?
Authors: Webb Penelope M. , Knight Teri , Elder James B. , Newell Diane G. , Forman David
Published: February 2007

Background.

Subsequent to the isolation of Helicobacter pylori from domestic cats, it has been suggested that the organism might be transmitted from cats to humans. This hypothesis has already gained considerable media attention.

Materials and Methods.In a previous study of risk factors for H. pylori infection, 447 factory workers from Stoke on Trent in the UK had provided blood samples for H. pylori serological workup. They had also completed a detailed questionnaire concerning their living conditions, including the possession of any household pets, in childhood. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between cat ownership in childhood and H. pylori seropositivity.

Results.After adjustment for potential confounders, it was found that subjects who had owned a pet as a child were slightly more likely to be H. pylori seropositive than subjects who had not. There was, however, no difference between subjects who had owned a cat and those with other pets.

Results.These data do not support the hypothesis that H. pylori infection might be transmitted from cats to humans.
The Correlation in Dyspeptic Patients of Helicobacter Pylori Infection with Changes in lnterdigestive Gastroduodenal Motility Patterns but not in Gastric Emptying
Authors: Testoni P. A. , Bagnolo F. , Colombo E. , Bonassi U. , Tosi T.
Published: February 2007

BackgroundAvailable data conflict regarding the possible relation between chronic gastritis, Helicohacter pylori (H p), and gastric motor disorders in nonulcer dyspepsia. The aim of this study, therefore, was (1) evaluate both gastroduodenal fasting motility and gastric emptying in subjects with functional dyspepsia, with and without gastritis, and (2) to correlate the motility pattern to H p infection.

Materials and Methods.Thirty‐eight patients were studied, 20 positive for Hp infection (15 with gastritis) and 18 Hp‐negative (8 with gastritis). All the subjects underwent 240‐minute manometric recording of the interdigestive migrating motor complex, with evaluation of gastric and duodenal motility pattern and scintigraphic study of gastric emptying.

Results.Whereas gastric emptying half‐times did not differ in the subgroups of dyspeptic patients, a significant reduction of gastric phase 111s of the migrating motor complex was detected between Hp‐positive and Hp negative subjects, both in overall patients (p < .01) and in patients with gastritis (p < .05).

Conclusions.Hp infection seems to be related to a reduction of interdigestive gastric activity fronts, though it does not affect gastric emptying. The conflicting data regarding gastric emptying and interdigestive motility in Hp infection could be explained as probably investigating two different functional aspects.
The Best Gastric Site for Obtaining a Positive Rapid Urease Test
Authors: Woo Jae Soon , EI‐Zimaity Hala M. T. , Genta Robert M. , Yousfi Mahmoud M. , Graham David Y.
Published: February 2007

BackgroundRapid urease tests (RUTs) provide a simple, sensitive method of detecting Helicobacter pylori infection.

Objectives.Our aim, therefore, was to determine whether the yield of detecting H. pylori infection by RUT varied depending on the site of gastric biopsy.

Materials and Methods.Gastric biopsies were obtained from 50 patients for RUT by use of hpfast (GI Supply, Camp Hill, PA). Biopsies were taken from the prepyloric greater curve antrum, from the gastric angle, and from the greater curve in mid‐corpus. One biopsy specimen was placed in the RUT gel, and the biopsy from the adjacent mucosa was placed in formalin for subsequent histological evaluation by using the Genta stain. RUTs were examined and scored at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30, and 45 minutes and after 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours.

Results.Fifty patients were entered in the test (150 RUTs), 32 having H. pylori infection. There were no false‐positive RUTs (specificity, 100%). The gastric angle site was positive in 100%. The prepyloric site was positive in 87%, and the corpus site was positive in 84.4% (p < .052 for angle or prepyloric antrum versus corpus). The most common pattern was for all to be positive (74%). The median time to positivity was similar with angle and prepyloric sites (37.5 and 60 minutes, respectively, p= not significant) and shorter than the corpus biopsy (180 minutes); (p < .05 for angle or prepyloric antrum versus corpus).

Conclusion.The maximum probability for detecting H. pylori infection using a RUT is to obtain a biopsy from the gastric angle. To prevent missing a positive result when intestinal metaplasia is present, we recommend that (at a minimum) biopsies be taken from both the angle and the corpus.
Time of Helicobacter pylori Eradication Assessment Following Treatment
Authors: Neil G.A. , Suchower L.J. , Ronca P.D. , Skoglund M.L.
Published: February 2007

Background.

The most appropriate time to assess accurately Helicobacter pylori eradication following treatment has been debated, with recommendations ranging from 1 to 3 months. The purpose of this study was to validate the assessment of H. pylori eradication 1 month following treatment.

Materials and Methods.

Three randomized, double‐blind, active‐controlled clinical trials were conducted in patients with endoscopically verified, active duodenal ulcers and H. pylori infection. Patients were treated with various treatment regimens of omeprazole plus amoxicillin. Ulcer healing, H. pylori eradication, and ulcer relapse were examined. Patients underwent repeat endoscopy and biopsy at 1 and 6 months following treatment (or sooner if symptoms returned) to determine the recurrence of ulcers and H. pylori status. To determine the accuracy of measuring H. pylori eradication at 1 month posttreatment, we compared the H. pylori status at 1 month and 6 months following treatment.

Results.

In a combination of treatment groups and studies, a total of 384 evaluable patients represented data at both time points and were included in the analysis. Of those eradicated at 1 month posttreatment, 94% (141 of 150) remained eradicated at 6 months posttreatment. The proportion of patients with H. pylori eradicated at 1 month posttreatment did not differ significantly from that at 6 months posttreatment for each study. The overall efficiency of the two tests (agreement between tests) was 93% (359 of 384). Agreement between the 1‐month and 6‐month posttreatment H. pylori assessment was apparent, regardless of the treatment used.

Conclusion.

H. pylori eradication measured 1 month following cessation of treatment accurately reflects successful treatment of the infection.
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Respiratory Physicians Performing Bronchoscopy: A Comparison with Gastroenterologists Using the Carbon 13 Urea Breath Test
Authors: Potts Lindsay F. , Lewis Stephen J. , Mountford Richard A.
Published: February 2007

Background.

The mode of transmission of Helicobacter pylori is unclear, but it has been shown that gastroenterologists are at a greater risk of acquiring the infection when performing endoscopy. The current study was designed to assess the risk H. pylori infection in respiratory physicians performing bronchoscopy compared to an at‐risk group of gastroenterologists. We were interested in identifying whether the oral cavity is important in the transmission of H. pylori.

Materials and Methods.

Respiratory physicians and gastroenterologists in southern England and Wales were invited to participate in the study. Medical, personal, and professional details were recorded, and H. pylori status was established using a carbon 13 urea breath test.

Results.

The study included 30 gastroenterologists and 30 respiratory physicians. The groups were similar for age (mean age, 46.2 years [SD 8.7] and 43.9 years [SD 8.5], respectively), number of years in practice (mean, 16.1 [6.8] and 13.2 [5.5], respectively), amount of Third‐World travel, and glove and drug use (antacids, H2 antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, promotility agents, and bismuth). The prevalence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms (indigestion, heartburn, abdominal pain) and history of previous peptic ulcer or hiatus hernia were similar for both groups. Fifteen of thirty gastroenterologists and three of thirty respiratory physicians had positive breath tests (χ square, p < .001, 1 df  ). There was no relation between age and H. pylori status. Within the group of gastroenterologists, performance of endoscopy without gloves for longer than 7 years was associated with an increased prevalence of infection (>7 years, 11 of 15 breath‐test‐positive; <7 years, 4 of 15 breath‐test‐positive [χ square, p = .01, 1 df  ]).

Conclusions.

Gastroenterologists in this study appeared to be at risk of infection, whereas respiratory physicians are not. Gastroenterologists who wear gloves during endoscopy appear to be at lower risk of H. pylori infection.