bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Code‐mixing by English–Chinese bilingual teachers of the People's Republic of China
Authors: AN WU YI
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted among Chinese–English bilingual teachers from the People's Republic of China (PRC) to find the sociolinguistic and social psychological factors affecting their choice of codes when interacting among themselves, and the functional and linguistic features of their code‐mixing behaviour. Findings indicated that participants and their role relationship, topic, setting, the speaker's social psychological motivation, and his/her perception of his/her social reality all affected the bilinguals' choice of codes, and that socio‐cultural norms exerted an overall influence as well. Three functions of code‐mixing by the subjects were identified as: (1) to achieve ease of expression, (2) to achieve articulateness and simplicity, and (3) to produce rhetorical effect. Linguistically, transfer occurred at the lexical, phrasal, clausal and sentential level, but not at the morphemic level. The code‐mixed texts were all marked by textual cohesion and functional appropriateness.
Exploring intercultural communication through literature and film
Authors: CONDON JOHN
Published: February 2007

Abstract: Students of intercultural communication have utilized almost exclusively the writings of social scientists. Literature (prose fiction, poetry and biography) and film have been little used except to illustrate what social scientists have discussed. The potential of literature and film for our understanding of intercultural relations is conisderable, however, and can be explored both through the analysis of cultural patterns expressed in the works, and in the analysis of intercultural themes, of conflicts and resolutions by the characters, in novels, biographies and films. A recent study of the latter kind identified several significant ‘coping mechanisms’ of ethnic minorities in the United States which distinguished those who prevailed in a world of cultural pressures from those who did not. Such attitudes and abilities had been overlooked in the methods and goals of most social‐science writings. Moreover, there is evidence that literature majors in college have performed better in some intercultural encounters—as US Peace Corps volunteers—than have graduates of programs in the social or physical sciences.

There are many problems, however, in drawing upon literature and film. One problem is the possibility for gross distortion of a people by a writer or filmmaker whose audience has no means of checking against reality. These images, in fact, can receive such wide acceptance that future audiences expect to have this image confirmed in subsequent works (‘standardization of error’). Even very good works, when they achieve the status of ‘classics’, lead readers and audiences to want more books and films which reconfirm a simplified and outdated image. This works against smaller, poorer and non‐English‐speaking societies especially, as only those works which fit the expectations of English‐speaking readers or viewers elsewhere are likely to be translated and published or produced.

Literature allows for a much more varied manner of story telling than does the conventional social‐science genre. It allows for more varied points of view, more emotional involvement, and the taking of a stand on issues; in addition, it can draw upon all of the resources that evoke an experience rather than being about experiences. We need to utilize more fully the power of the image and word in our understanding of intercultural communication.
The power of the English language in Thai media
Authors: MASAVISUT NITAYA , SUKWIWAT MAYURI , WONGMONTHA SERI
Published: February 2007

Abstract: This article will focus on how the English language came to Thailand and how it is used today, particularly in advertising and the media. The first part of this article will be devoted to the historical events which have contributed to the development and widespread use of the English language from its first penetration to the present. The second part is a description of the present‐day phenomena of the Thai media. The scope of the discussion will be confined to advertising messages which appear on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on billboards and posters. The third part involves the assessment of the impact of English based on the historical account and on various salient factors which justify the adoption of Western life‐styles along with the English language and the assimilation of Western cultural dimensions with the indigenous.
Film, thought and language
Authors: TILLMAN FRANK
Published: February 2007

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify and clarify some of the ways pictorial images in the form of still photography, illustrated magazines, film, television and computer graphics are changing the way we read, write and think. The single most easily observed and far‐reaching change is the way pictorial images are altering the content of our concepts. Pictorial images have become the illustrating exemplars of many base‐level concepts—kinds of things, people, places and situations with consequences for Reading: readers, instead of drawing on first‐hand experience or imagination, are filling out mental pictures from their vast experience with pictorial images; Writing: contemporary writers of fiction or non‐fiction tend to eschew lavish description and key up mental images by a single term or referring phrase; Thinking: although it appears that the heavy influx of photographic images is dulling or inhibiting certain creative activities associated with reading and writing, in fact, pictorial images are stimulating other creative activities of mind that render the thought of a particular time coherent. Further, English as an international language of communication is becoming more universal as photographic or television images go everywhere, but English as a literary language is becoming more parochial as writers, in response to the accelerating number of pictorial images, are turning away from traditional narrative description to explore the possibilities of language itself.
English in the Solomon Islands
Authors: WATSON‐GEGEO KAREN ANN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The national language of most Pacific island nations today, English has a long history of development and use in the Pacific, from whaling and trading days to missionization, colonization, plantation labor, and then national independence. This paper traces the history of English and the development of English‐based Pijin in the Solomon Islands, whose language use history is similar to other Melanesian nations. The current role of English and Pijin in the Solomons and their mutual influences are then discussed.
English in the language policy of the Pacific Rim
Authors: KAPLAN ROBERT B.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The Pacific Rim is more than just numerous geographical chunks: it is a series of polities and islands covering nearly half of the surface of the earth and representing almost half of the world's population. While this area is too diverse and complex to discuss all at once, there are two linguistic threads which wind around the region and serve as unifying links: Chinese and English. English is the language of wider communication in this century. It is the language of science and technology, business and commerce, transportation and communication. Chinese in its written form, on the other hand, serves as a medium of personal identity, of solidarity with a culture having an unbroken history of over 5000 years. The purpose of this paper is to show how these two links co‐exist in a realm where English is seen on a spectrum ranging from the sole national or official language within a country to nations which do not incorporate the use of this tongue at all, and what the future of these two diverse methods of communication can be with intelligent planning and the unfolding of coherent policies.
Miscommunication across cultures: the case of marketing in Indian English
Authors: FRANK JANE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Successful communication requires that messages achieve their intent. If the explicit purpose of the message is to generate sales, yet the originator's implicit intent (persuasion) is not achieved, marketing strategies can be said to have failed. This paper focuses on the contents of a direct‐response sales letter written in English, which offers a product marketed by an Indian firm to an American audience. It contends that in marketing situations where success is highly dependent on the way English is used by non‐native speakers, communicative failure may be related to differences in usage which have the effect of preserving semantic meaning at the expense of conveying pragmatic intent. Using two differing pragmatic approaches as a framework, portions of the letter are analyzed in detail, then compared to findings made from similar examination of two comparable texts, representing the efforts of American and British copywriters, presumed to be native‐English‐speaking. Based on the limited data, I tentatively conclude that native‐speaking recipients of such sales material will be unpersuaded by discourse which does not conform to expected shared norms of understanding. Further, the results suggest that a commonly shared language is insufficient ground to predict success in achieving cross‐cultural marketing objectives.
Learning English better through more effective teaching: six postulates for a model of language learning/teaching
Authors: STREVENS PETER
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper is a contribution towards the understanding of the language‐learning/teaching process. Effective learning of English (or any language) is increasingly achieved through ‘informed teaching’, in which the teaching is continually varied according to the progress of the learning. Six postulates are advanced that largely define the learning side of a reciprocal learning/teaching model. First, that the manner of presentation of the language input affects comprehension and learning in ways that are in principle determinate. Second, that the learner's progress is affected by these sets of learning processes, respectively depending on the learner's identity, intentionality, and mental qualities, which become enabling (or disabling) conditions. Third, that language learning occurs out of a flux of sensory data plus memory, that is complex, multiple and gradual not single and discrete. Fourth, that comprehension plus memory create learning, which is initially only receptive, but which becomes productive following further psychomotor effort. Fifth, that gaining practical command of a language requires multiple (not single) presentations of the language to the learner, and multiple opportunities for practice. Sixth, that effective learning is a reciprocal effect with informed teaching, each shaping the other.
English, information access, and technology transfer: a rationale for English as an international language
Authors: GRABE WILLIAM
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The role of English as an international language has engendered considerable debate recently [e.g. Kaplan (1983a) Science, technology, language and information; Kaplan (1983b) Science, 221, 4614; Quirk (1985) in English in the World (edited by R. Quirk and H. Widdowson), pp. 1–6; Bailey (1983) in Literacy for Life (edited by R. W. Bailey and R. Fisheim), pp. 30–44; and Bailey (1987) Resistance to the spread of English]. In this paper it is argued that English is the major international language at least in part because it is the dominant world language of science and technology. In particular, its role in information access and technology transfer is a major explanation for the rise of English world‐wide. Evidence is presented both to support English as the international language of science and technology and to explain its essential role in information access globally. Implications of the analysis are discussed for English language teaching as well as for the role of language in future information access systems. The arguments presented suggest that no country can afford to ignore the important role English plays in information access and technology transfer and still expect to compete professionally and economically.
FAMILY QUARRELS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Authors: ALTER STEPHEN
Published: February 2007

Family Quarrels: towards a Criticism of Indian Writing in English. By Feroza F. Jussawalla
The effect of discourse structuring devices on listener perceptions of coherence in non‐native university teacher's spoken discourse
Authors: TYLER ANDREA E. , JEFFERIES ANN A. , DAVIES CATHERINE E.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper addresses some of the sources of communication difficulty in the academic context through a discourse analytic examination of videotaped teaching demonstrations by 18 Korean and Chinese teaching assistants. It has been suggested that the primary source of listener perceptions of disorganization in spoken academic discourse might be the overall order in which information is presented. This study, however, reveals that rhetorical organization was not the problem. Research on native speakers’ discourse in an academic environment has indicated that effective communicators use a number of devices to orient their listeners to the relative importance among ideas within the discourse, and simultaneously to convey the interrelationships among these ideas. In particular, we find extensive use of prosody. Native speakers also use a variety of syntactic constructions such as topicalization in order to focus the attention of the listener and show relative foregrounding and backgrounding. Use of these devices provides native‐speaker listeners with a set of cues which allow them to construct coherence. This study shows these cues were absent in the Chinese and Korean speakers. The main structuring devices were lexical repetition and parataxis. In effect, the Chinese and Korean speakers are constructing an undifferentiated, flat discourse structure within which the native‐speaker listener is unable to perceive the intended relationships among the ideas presented.
A comparison of pragmatic accommodation of nonnative and native speakers in written English
Authors: STALKER JACQUELINE W. , STALKER JAMES C.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The analysis of 10 edited essays written by freshman native and nonnative speakers of English who are novice, non proficient writers of English indicates that both groups produce approximately the same number and kinds of sentence level deviations from standard written English. At this level the nonnative speakers appear no more ‘foreign’ than do the native speakers. At the discourse level, the nonnative students produce fewer faulty structures, and produce more coherent essays with clearer illocutionary guides for the reader. This analysis indicates that nonnative speakers in a college writing class can certainly profit from instruction focused on developing discourse level strategies that structure coherence overtly and provide obvious illocutionary guides for the reader.
The pragmatic dimension of creativity in the other tongue
Authors: NELSON CECIL L.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Authors of literature in new Englishes reach out to a multi‐national audience through the conscious choice of English as their medium of presentation. New‐English authors exhibit a range of nativization in their English. They present new elements and structures within a matrix of internationally ‘standard’ English, allowing the reader to accept the presentation in a more or less readable way. Texts may be seen as possessing the qualities of intelligibility, comprehensibility and interpretability. Passages such as “During this time Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bushfire in the harmattan” [Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958: 7)] are marked for the non‐African reader, but attractive in part because of that. Structures such as “you are a know‐God man be” [Okara, The Voice (1964: 30)] are at an extreme of the cline of acceptability for most readers, and such texts raise the question of what the limits of ‘Englishness’ are. This study explores various pragmatic dimensions of creativity in selected contexts of English in the Outer Circle.
Classroom foreign language learning and language variation: the notion of pedagogical norms
Authors: VALDMAN ALBERT
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This article comprises three parts. In the first part, a model of interlinguistic variation is developed which, unlike those presented heretofore, attempts to take into account inherent variation in the target language. In the second part are presented the results of a pilot study which suggests that advanced learners, including foreign language teachers, differ significantly from target language speakers in the way they handle variation. In the third part an argument is constructed for the establishment of special classroom replicas of the target language labelled pedagogical norms. Finally, the notion of pedagogical norm is illustrated with two variable features of French, the phonological ‘è’ variable and interrogative structures. These two examples illustrates the important point that pedogogical norms must take into account the full range of target language variability, including sociolinguistically stigmatized features. Although all the examples in this article are drawn from French, the model of interlinguistic variation that is developed and the notion of pedagogical norm that stems from the model are applicable to all types of foreign‐ and second‐language learning, including that of English as a second language.
English pidgins: form and function
Authors: MUFWENE SALIKOKO S.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper highlights similarities and variation in both the form and function of English pidgins the world over. Their ethnographic functions are shown to vary from that of the lingua franca in Africa and Asia to that of local vernaculars in the New World. Although these pidgins usually have an in‐group, and sometimes politically integrative, function, very few of them have ever succeeded in being elevated to the high status of varieties used in, for example, the government, or higher courts of law, let alone higher education. Regarding form, it is noteworthy that, although English pidgins share a number of formal features (which may be attributed either to their common seventeenth‐ and eighteenth‐century lexifier or to a universal, Bickertonian language bioprogram), they differ from one another in a number of other respects which may be attributed to substrate linguistic influence or chance selection of superstate features. Traditional invocations of ‘decreolization’ to account for intra‐ and intercommunal variation are argued against because they are based on the unproven assumption that the basilect as such has ever existed. The available information both on the social stratification of the slave population on the plantations of the New World and on differences in the British‐African demographic ratios in the colonies is adduced to support the position that current speech continua date from the formative stages of the pidgins.
English in Papua New Guinea
Authors: SMITH ANNE‐MARIE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the sociolinguistic situation in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with particular reference to English in the way it is used by Papua New Guineans. It begins with a review of the opinions of senior PNG educators on the place of English in the country. This paper then reports the finding of empirical research with regards to the phonology, grammar and lexis of English as it is used in semi‐formal circumstances by educated Papua New Guineans.
Nationalism and English as an international language: the history of English textbooks in Japan
Authors: HINO NOBUYUKI
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: It has been claimed that chauvinism of native speakers is a negative factor in promoting the idea of English as an international language. Little research has been conducted, however, on the impact of nationalism of non‐native speakers upon the teaching of English. This paper examines the cultural components of English textbooks in Japan during the past 120 years. There is ample evidence that the cultural contents of English texts clearly reflect the socio‐political environment of the times. When the Anglo‐American culture was blindly admired in Japan, English textbooks dealt exclusively with the British and American values. When the Japanese culture was blindly admired, the contents of English texts reflected traditional Japanese values. Based on these findings, the role of nationalism in the teaching of English for cross‐cultural communication is discussed.
SECOND‐LANGUAGE LEARNING
Authors: BROSELOW ELLEN
Published: February 2007

Second Languages: a Cross‐linguistic Perspective. By Roger Andersen Rowley.
SECOND‐LANGUAGE LEARNING
Authors: AYYAR INDIRA
Published: February 2007

Theories of Second Language Learning. By Barry McLaughlin.
Discourse particles in Singaporean English: substratum influences and universals
Authors: PLATT JOHN T. , HO MIAN LIAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The use of Chinese discourse particles in informal speech or in the speech of those with lower levels of education is an interesting substratum influence on Singaporean English. However, it is shown in this paper that in addition to the functions of different particles to indicate obviousness, disapproval or intimacy, or to highlight a particular lexical item, there are other functions of a more universal nature. For British English, two main types of intonation are posited: proclaiming tone (falling) and referring tone (rising). In most ‘native’ varieties of English, the tonic syllable (or nucleus), the syllable on which pitch movement begins, is in an ordinary lexical item, However, in Singaporean English, the pitch movement often occurs on a following particle. The concept of proclaiming and referring tones appears to be valid for Singaporean English except for this use of the discourse particles as the main indicators of these tones.
Bilinguals' creativity and syntactic theory: evidence for emerging grammar
Authors: BHATIA TEJ K.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on a code‐mixed variety of English and Hindi, termed ‘Filmi English’, which has received little attention from scholars interested in nonnative varieties of English. In addition to extending the empirical scope of Indian English, the study aims at achieving the following two goals: first, to examine the formal and functional aspects of Filmi English, and second, to examine the adequacy of the transformational‐generative and government‐binding models of bilingual code‐mixing proposed by Woolford [Linguistic Inquiry, 14, 520–536 (1983)] and Di Sciullo et al. [Journal of Linguistics, 12, 1–24 (1986)]. This paper calls for a reexamination of the conclusion arrived at by previous investigators that code‐mixing yields no hybrid rules; therefore, no new grammar is born. It is argued that in at least one case—that of the Filmi English in South Asia—it is necessary to countenance the possibility that a third system specific to the mixed variety may arise. To achieve these goals a quantitative analysis of a corpus of more than 2000 intrasentential code‐mixed sentences drawn from a film magazine, Stardust, is performed.
Self and modernism in Sri Lankan poetry in English
Authors: DISSANAYAKE WIMAL
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: Modernism as a literary credo and cultural practice tends to foreground issues of subjectivity, self‐reflectivity, self‐doubt, authenticity and alienation, all of which are intimately linked to selfhood. In this paper, the author examines the relationship between self and modernism in the context of Sri Lankan poetry in English and its implication for English writing and cultural authenticity. The dissolution of the unitary self and the problematic of its representation in literature are closely linked to the dynamics of writing in English in a country in the Outer Circle. The general points made in this paper in relation to the Sri Lankan experience are equally applicable to other countries constituting the Outer Circle.
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Authors: DAVIDSON FRED
Published: February 2007

Tense in Indian English: a Sociolinguistic Perspective. By Rama Kant Agnihotri, Amrit Lai Khanna and Aditi Mukherjee.
Chinese‐English code‐mixing: a case of matrix language assignment
Authors: KAMWANGAMALU NKONKO M. , CHER‐LENG LEE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: While it has been shown that bilingual code‐mixing (CM) is not random and that there exist rules that determine what code‐mixes are or are not allowed in bilingual speech, it has not been established yet whether the rules in question ‘come’ predominantly from one language, the matrix language, or whether they are evenly contributed by each of the languages participating in CM. More specifically, the issue has been whether there exists a matrix language to a code‐mixed sentence, that is, a language whose morphosyntactic rules govern the syntactic structure of CM, or whether it is the case that no feasible linguistic analysis can reliably assign a matrix language to a code‐mixed sentence and that, therefore, CM is acceptable only where it does not violate the syntactic integrity of either of the languages involved. This paper attempts to address this issue in light of data drawn from natural conversations involving Chinese–English bilinguals in Singapore. Based on this data it is argued that there exists a matrix language to a code‐mixed sentence; that bilingual speakers can intuitively identify the matrix language; and that it is this language that licenses the ‘mixability’ of linguistic elements of the other language, the embedded language. This argument receives support from the language assignment test that we conducted asking Chinese–English bilinguals to determine the matrix language in a set of Chinese–English code‐mixed sentences. This paper reports on the results of this test. It also discusses the implications of these results for the syntactic structure of CM in general, and for studies of constraints on CM in particular.
Tense and aspect in the news discourse of Nepali English
Authors: HARTFORD BEVERLY A. S.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper presents an analysis of tense and aspect variation in the news discourse of Nepali English. It takes the position that institutionalized non‐native varieties of English employ local norms of usage which are available for linguistic analysis. Nepali English news‐stories employ the pluperfect in some cases where NaE would use simple past. This pluperfect is used for backgrounding, interacting with other forms to provide textual coherence. It is bound to the news text's relevance structure, and signals information which is low in importance to the major topic of the article. The Nepali English pluperfect reflects a primary remoteness semantic while the native English pluperfect reflects a primary anteriority semantic.
World Englishes in TESOL programs: an infusion model of curricular innovation
Authors: BROWN KIMBERLEY
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: It has been recognized (e.g. Kachru, 1988) that it is time for a paradigm shift which takes into account the changing roles and functions of English around the world to occur in linguistic research and language pedagogy. Possible explanations for the relatively slow infusion of this paradigm into TESOL preparatory programs are presented.

This paper also explores structural impediments to curriculum design and teaching practices which incorporate a World Englishes perspective. These impediments include student background schemata; text availability and level of difficulty; supporting material availability; e.g. library journal and audio‐visual holdings; and availability of workshops and short‐term coursework for individuals who have not taught a World Englishes course before.

Eight recommendations are made to promote the incorporation of a World Englishes perspective within TESOL Methods courses and within the broader language education community.
Democratizing English as an international language
Authors: DENEIRE MARC GERARD
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is threefold. The first section shows how the political uses of language engendered by both Western‐style liberalism on the one hand and various forms of nationalism on the other lead to the negation of democratic ideals. Because of the current international situation, political aspects of language are receiving more and more attention. Second and Third World countries regularly accuse the United States and other First World countries of linguistic imperialism. In the former, national languages have become a weapon against the external imposition of a ‘new world order’. The second section focuses on intellectuals and education and their role in the reproduction of these systems. Language specialists and teachers typically function as instruments of dominant ideologies; their nearly exclusive focus on linguistic and developmental issues tends to obscure the broader sociopolitical context underlying their theories. The third section suggests ways in which EIL could function as a democratic language through the development of a transglossic function for English and through the democratization of education. Only as learners participate in the educational process, and, following Gramsci, are elevated to the status of intellectuals capable of making their own decisions, will we arrive at a democratic model of EIL.
Hegemony and language politics in Hawaii
Authors: KAWAMOTO KEVIN Y.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses issues of language and power in Hawaii and argues that enforced English language assimilation was one of the most important instruments through which American colonization was able to occur. Language politics in Hawaii, however, took a number of schizophrenic turns. The motivating force behind early language policies was the American oligarchy's need to acquire, centralize, and maintain power. This required that both official and unofficial language policies be manipulated in a variety of seemingly contradictory ways, depending on what the particular needs and concerns of the time happened to be. As circumstances presented themselves, the American business‐missionary‐government combine modified their policies to insure that certain objectives (e.g., conversion to Christianity, language and cultural assimilation, language and cultural diversity, annexation, etc.) served to perpetuate the status quo. This paper further argues that language served ‐ and continues to serve ‐ as a counter‐hegemonic strategy by disenfranchised groups in Hawaiian society to reclaim sovereignty over their culture, beliefs, and communication practices.
Arabic‐English bilinguals and the directive speech act
Authors: ATAWNEH AHMAD , SRIDHAR S. N.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper has three goals: to describe the politeness strategies of Arabic in the performance of the directive speech act and contrast them with those in English; to test the politeness theory of Brown and Levinson (1978) with Arabic‐English bilinguals and Arabic monolinguals; and to explore the cultural determination of pragmatic norms in language. The data come from a carefully designed questionnaire of role‐playing situations. The analysis of results shows a strong support for the politeness theory; however, the theory fails to provide the real politeness value for directives whose aim is to benefit the addressee, e.g., in invitations. The treatment of ‘silence’ as a function of politeness under this theory seems also to be questionable. Therefore, we propose using Leech's (1983) model in part to adjust the theory to overcome these inadequacies. Further, descriptive analysis shows that Arabic has fewer modals than English and therefore different politeness strategies are used to make up for the politeness function of modals in English. The applied part of our paper shows that the culture in which a second or foreign language is learned shapes the pragmatic norms of that language.
Papa's got a brand new bag: current trends in African English fiction
Authors: NAZARETH PETER
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper examines some new trends in African English creative writing as they are manifest in the following novels: The Gunny Sack by M. G. Vassanji (1989); To Every Birth Its Blood by Mongane Serote (1990); Matigari by Ngũg? wa Thiong'o (1989); The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar by Syl Cheney‐Coker (1990); and The General Is Up by Peter Nazareth (1991). There are some major differences between African English novels written just before and after the end of colonialism. Once they rejected what came from outside Africa as alien and alienating. That rejection is no more true: current African fiction includes a whole range of characters and ideas that would have been rejected once as alien. In thematic terms new African fiction embraces everything; being half‐caste is positive; writing about the past is a way of transforming it. The stylistic experimentation also uses new devices drawing from comics and the radio (see Nazareth, 1993). The novels examined in this paper bring the oral and written tradition together and give birth to the worlds of all the people. The paper provides a critical summary of recent trends in the African variety of literature in English.
Attitudes towards English in South Africa
Authors: DE KADT ELIZABETH
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The future language dispensation in South Africa has been widely discussed, yet little is known about the attitudes of ordinary second‐language speakers towards English, the language all agree will remain dominant for the foreseeable future. This paper attempts to begin to remedy this lack of knowledge by reporting on a series of interviews conducted with Zulu‐speakers in Durban. Two groups of respondents, on the one hand 20 students and professionals, and on the other 15 (domestic and other) workers, were interviewed by two Zulu‐speakers, who asked a series of questions based in the main on their own intuitions about English; the paper evaluates the responses discursively. No significant differences between the two groups were noted. English was generally seen in instrumental terms, as a very necessary job skill and lingua franca; and the link between English and education was constantly stressed. In interpreting these findings, it is suggested that a perception of English in these terms only is not without its dangers and that, in spite of the expectation that a general competence in English will help bring about a juster society, it might well on the contrary contribute to a further perpetuation of the present inequities in South Africa.
Reading The Bone People ‐ cross‐culturally
Authors: TAWAKE SANDRA KISER
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper offers two different interpretations of The Bone People, a novel by New Zealand Maori Keri Hulme. The first interpretation is one that might be made by a reader who is not familiar with Maori life in New Zealand and not familiar with other literary works by Hulme or other New Zealand Maori writers; the second interpretation is one that might be made by a Pacific‐island reader or one who is familiar with Maori values and literature. The difference between the two interpretations indicates that readers from different backgrounds have different imaginative experiences when they read the same literary text. This paper suggests that investigating the responses of readers from different cultural groups to the same text may contribute to cross‐cultural understanding by shedding light on the values and priorities that members of the same culture have in common. Prospective teachers may gain insight into the ways other peoples understand and express such values. Students and teachers may also gain a richer experience of the literatures written in English from within other cultures if they know about the priorities and values of peoples living in that society.
English in code‐alternations: towards an integrated study of code‐switching
Authors: AMEIKOLL‐STOBBE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:This paper presents an interpretative evaluation of current approaches to the systematic study of code‐switching and other related phenomena of language contact such as code‐mixing and borrowing.1Code‐switching is regarded as a skilled discourse strategy that bilingual or multilingual speakers can exploit both socially and semantically in bilingual or multilingual settings. The paper introduces a type of conceptual code‐switching that reflects that code‐contact should be studied from a sociolin‐guistic (code‐alternations) and psycholinguistic (code‐alterations) perspective. The focus will be less on a structural description of code‐contact but on the potential of code‐switching as a complex language contact phenomenon with regard to English as a world language.
Code‐mixing of Arabic and English in teaching science
Authors: MUSTAFA ZAHRA , AL‐KHATIB MAHMOUD
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates mixing Arabic and English in science lectures. The phenomenon is examined mainly with reference to frequency, grammatical categories involved, and adequacy of the syntactic constraints proposed in the literature for providing a structural description of this practice. The results show that the alternate use of the two languages in teaching is a prominent feature of the lectures and occurs in different grammatical categories to various degrees. However, the conditioning factors suggested in the literature are inappropriate for a grammatical characterization of code‐mixing. So, it is suggested that further research should examine the sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic factors involved if a satisfactory description of such mixing is to be provided.
Discourse problems in argumentative writing
Authors: AL‐HAQ FAWWAZ AL‐ABED , AHMED AHMED S. E. A.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate the discourse problems in argumentative writing. To achieve this objective, the researchers collected a sample of 62 essays written by the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level students at the Department of English and Translation, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The study also aims to propose a checklist for composing and evaluating argumentative writing, and to examine the significance of differences in the three levels of samples.

The corpus has been analyzed, classified, and discussed. Plausible explanations for the areas of difficulty are provided, conclusions are drawn, and implications are accordingly suggested.
Cross‐cultural correspondence
Authors: JAMES CARL , SCHOLFIELD PHIL , YPSILADIS GEORGE
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:The letter of application is a widespread subgenre of persuasive discourse whereby access to certain social and material benefits is regulated. We define persuasive discourse in terms of Relevance and Test theory. In the international community, these letters are increasingly drafted in English, and we hypothesize that these nonnative English versions will tend to carry rhetorical and discoursal features transferred from the writer's first language and culture. These transfers give rise to pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic infelicities respectively. A study is reported comparing native and nonnative writers’ judgements of the suitability of a number of pre‐identified persuasive strategies for use in application letters. The nonnative judgements vary along a broad oriental‐occidental scale which reflects the Modesty Maxim. Some pedagogical implications for syllabus and methodology are identified and in‐class analytic Contrastive Analysis of such genres is defended.
Competing discourses in Sri Lankan English poetry
Authors: CANAGARAJAH A. SURESH
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: The realization that language is ideological has created a debate among postcolonial English writers on what language to use for their creative expression and how. While Ngügï wa Thiong'o has argued for the abandonment of English and the sole use of native languages, Gabriel Okara has argued for the fusion of the native and English discourses, thus constructing an alternate discourse that is ideologically satisfying for native aspirations while being internationally accessible for a wide readership. A reading of contemporary Sri Lankan poetry, to see how poets negotiate the competing discourses of the native and English languages, reveals at least four strategies. Patrick Fernando uses standard English with a Western ‘modernist’ idiom, failing to address the clash of discourses. Yasmine Gooneratne consciously negotiates the conflict through the technique of irony in order to use the same Anglo‐American discourse. Jean Arasanayagam attempts to fuse the discourses; but the mere inclusion of Tamil lexical items into Standard English syntax and cosmopolitan ethos lacks successful integration. It was perhaps the prematurely deceased Lakdasa Wikkramasinha who managed to fuse Sinhala and English into a genuinely creative alternate discourse, as he was more firmly grounded in the native literary and cultural traditions.
Repetitions: a cross‐cultural study
Authors: MURATA KUMIKO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates how one feature of conversational style ‐ repetition ‐ is utilized within the system of turn‐taking cross‐culturally, examining and classifying the immediate repetitions utilized at topic and subtopic boundaries of three different types of interactions: NSE‐NSE (native speakers of British English), NSJ‐NSJ (native speakers of Japanese), and NSE‐JSE (Japanese speakers of English). Five interactional functions of repetition are identified: interruption‐oriented, solidarity, silence‐avoidance, hesitation, and reformulation repetitions. It is noted that the frequency of the use of different types of repetition varies across cultures, some being exclusively confined either to English or Japanese interactions. It is argued that the differences in the use of repetitions are closely related to the differences in the turn‐taking mechanism of English and Japanese interactions and also to the socio‐cultural values attached to their use.
English in China
Authors: YONG ZHAO , CAMPBELL KEITH P.
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: China has the largest number of English users in the Expanding Circle, but little information is available about the exact number of users and their English proficiency. This paper presents a demographic profile of the users of English in China and the distribution of proficiency among the millions of English users. Also presented in the article is a sociolinguistic profile of the different uses of English in Chinese society. The authors contend that the primary function of English in China is not one of international communication, as has been believed in the literature, but one of social and economic mobility.
IDENTITY AND COMMUNICATION
Authors: DeKadt Elizabeth
Published: February 2007

African American Communication: Ethnic Identity and Cultural Interpretation. Michael L. Hecht, Mary Jane Collier and Sidney A. Ribeau.

Power in Language: Verbal Communication and Social Influence. Sik Hung Ng and James J. Bradac.
A historical review of English in Japan (1600–1880)
Authors: IKE MINORU
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the study of English in Japan will be surveyed historically. The value of English in the process of Japan's modernization will be discussed and the effectiveness of English education assessed.

The current state of English education will also be surveyed in the final part of this paper.
Japanese attitudes toward English accents
Authors: CHIBA REIKO , MATSUURA HIROKO , YAMAMOTO ASAKO
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: In Japan, students seem to resort to American English when it comes to deciding the model for their English. This study focuses on the attitudes of Japanese university students toward varieties of spoken English. The study is based on the results of our previous research (Matsuura et al. 1994), which showed the preference for American English among Japanese students. The aim of this study is to examine the relation between the acceptance of varieties of English spoken by native and non‐native speakers and the attitudes toward people, culture, and English learning. The results obtained have demonstrated the following points: first, subjects with more instrumental motivation are more positive towards non‐native English accents than those with less instrumental motivation; second, the level of subjects’ respect for indigenous languages affects their attitudes toward non‐native English accents; and third, the subjects’ familiarity with accents has an influence on their acceptance of varieties of English.
A survey of Japanese sources on the use of English in Japan
Authors: TANAKA SACHIKO ODA , TANAKA HARUMI
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: English is the foremost foreign language studied and taught in public and private institutions in Japan. Publishing related to the teaching of English is now a major industry here. First we will give an overview of different types of books about the use of English published in Japan. Then we will discuss some of the controversies about teaching English, and finally we will describe new directions in the use of English, particularly how the use of English as a means of communication is reflected in new courses in the school system as well as in publications aimed for the Japanese.
Lectal power in Singapore English
Authors: CHEW PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT:While there have been many studies on the multilingual and polyglossic nature of Singapore society, most have been basically descriptive or attitudinal. What has not been emphasized is the social, economic and political implications of the inequality of sociolects in terms of their association with prestige and social acceptance. This paper examines the use and importance of lectal power in a crucial encounter – the admission interview in the multilingual and polyglossic society of the Republic of Singapore and analyses to what extent such a power or the lack of such a power affects the outcome of such an event. The specific focus is on the extent of lectal power possessed by the interviewee since this correlates with her chances of success in the interview. Such a power involves the careful management or control of language on several levels. At the syntactic level, the competent or incompetent use of syntactic features such as tag questions, thebecopula, and aspect markers are examined. On the lexical level, the choice of verbs and nouns chosen used by the interviewee reveal the extent of lectal power in her possession. Analysis on the pragmatic level shows how the pragmatic force mapped on a linguistic structure by a non‐acrolectal speaker is often systematically different from that normally assigned by an acrolectal speaker. Finally, lectal power is studied on the discoursal level through an examination of the interviewee's attempts to negotiate linguistically on the lectal cline.
Why they need English in Malaysia: a survey
Authors: KAUR KULDIP
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a study that examines the functions served by the English language to Malaysian schoolchildren. Primarily, the study focused on nine separate functions related to three broad themes which were identified from 182 students’ responses to a questionnaire. It was found that English for academic functions, such as further education abroad and improving one's knowledge, received the highest priority, while social functions, such as using English to communicate with one's family and friends, received lowest priority. The findings of the study imply that English plays an important role in the personal advancement of the individual and in national progress. However, English can exist alongside native languages such as Malay, Mandarin and Tamil as they have a role in communication among Malaysians.