bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Non-simplicity of locally finite barely transitive groups
Authors: Hartley B. , Kuzucuoğlu M.
Published: December 2008

We answer the following questions negatively: Does there exist a simple locally finite barely transitive group (LFBT-group)? More precisely we have: There exists no simple LFBT -group. We also deal with the question, whether there exists a LFBT-group G acting on an infinite set Ω so that G is a group of finitary permutations on Ω. Along this direction we prove: If there exists a finitary LFBT-group G, then G is a minimal non-FC p-group. Moreover we prove that: If a stabilizer of a point in a LFBT-group G is abelian, then G is metabelian. Furthermore G is a p-group for some prime p, G/G′ ≅ Cp∞, and G′ is an abelian group of finite exponent.
A certain non-singular system of length three equations over a group
Authors: Wreth S.
Published: December 2008

The Kervaire Conjecture is correct if it can be shown to hold for non-singular systems of equations of length 3. In this paper we prove it for the case of equations over a group G where each equation has the form axbx−1cy = 1 for a, b, c ∈ G.
The isomorphism problem for a class of para-free groups
Authors: Fine Benjamin , Rosenberger Gerhard , Stille Michael
Published: December 2008

In 1962 Gilbert Baumslag introduced the class of groups Gi, j for natural numbers i, j, defined by the presentations Gi, j = < a, b, t; a−1 = [bi, a] [bj, t] >. This class is of special interest since the groups are para-free, that is they share many properties with the free group F of rank 2.

Magnus and Chandler in their History of Combinatorial Group Theory mention the class Gi, j to demonstrate the difficulty of the isomorphism problem for torsion-free one-relator groups. They remark that as of 1980 there was no proof showing that any of the groups Gi, j are non-isomorphic. S. Liriano in 1993 using representations of Gi, j into PSL(2, pk), k ∈ ℕ, showed that G1,1 and G30,30 are non-isomorphic. In this paper we extend these results to prove that the isomorphism problem for Gi, 1, i ∈ ℕ is solvable, that is it can be decided algorithmically in finitely many steps whether or not an arbitrary one-relator group is isomorphic to Gi, 1. Further we show that Gi, 1 ≇ G1, 1 for all i > 1 and if i, k are primes then Gi, 1 ≅ Gk, 1 if and only if i = k.
Hermitian operators and isometries on sums of Banach spaces
Authors: Fleming R. J. , Jamison J. E.
Published: December 2008

Let E be a Banach sequence space with the property that if (αi) ∈ E and |βi|≦|αi| for all i then (βi) ∈ E and ‖(βi)‖E≦‖(αi)‖E. For example E could be co, lp or some Orlicz sequence space. If (Xn) is a sequence of real or complex Banach spaces, then E can be used to construct a vector sequence space which we will call the E sum of the Xn's and symbolize by ⊕EXn. Specifically, ⊕EXn = {(xn)|(xn)∈Xn and (‖xn‖)∈E}. The E sum is a Banach space with norm defined by: ‖(xn)‖ = ‖(‖xn‖)‖E. This type of space has long been the source of examples and counter-examples in the geometric theory of Banach spaces. For instance, Day [7] used E=lp and Xk=lqk, with appropriate choice of qk, to give an example of a reflexive Banach space not isomorphic to any uniformly conves Banach space. Recently VanDulst and Devalk [33] have considered Orlicz sums of Banach spaces in their studies of Kadec-Klee property.
Approximation and interpolation by complex splines on the torus
Authors: Goodman T. N. T. , Lee S. L. , Sharma A.
Published: December 2008

Let T2 = {(eix1, eix2):0 ≦ xj<2π, j=1,2} be a two dimensional torus and r, s, t and k be positive integers with k>r+s+t–2. Our main object is to study the approximation and interpolation properties of a class of smooth functions whose restrictions to each triangle of a three direction mesh lie in the linear span of or 0≦μ≦r–1, r+s–l≦μ+ν≦r+s+t–2, or 0≦ν≦s–1, r+s–1≦μ+ν≦r+s+t–2} Where (z1, z2) ∈ T2.
A homomorphism theorem for multipliers
Authors: Asmar Nakhlé Habib
Published: December 2008

Throughout the paper, the symbols G1 and G2 will denote two locally compact abelian groups with character groups X1 and X2, respectively. Haar measures on Gj are denoted by μj; the ones on Xj are denoted by θj (j=1,2). The measures μj and θj are normalized so that the Plancherel Theorem holds (see [7, p. 226, Theorem 31.18]).
A counterexample of hermitian liftings
Authors: Lin Pei-Kee
Published: December 2008

Let X be a complex Banach space, and let and denote respectively the algebras of bounded and compact operators on X. The quotient algebra is called the Calkin algebra associated with X. It is known that both and are complex Banach algebras with unit e. For such unital Banach algebras B, set

and define the numerical range of x ∈ B as

x is said to be hermitian if W(x)⊆R. It is known that

Fact 1. ([4 vol. I, p. 46]) x is hermitian if and only if ‖eiαx‖ = (or ≦)1 for all α ∈ R, where ex is defined by
Positive multipoint Padé continued fractions
Authors: Hendriksen Erik , Njåstad Olav
Published: December 2008

Multipoint Padé fractions were introduced in [2]. They are continued fractions defined in the following way:

Let {a1,a2,…,ap} be given fixed points in the complex plane. For each n ≧1 let an = am where 1≦m≦p and n≡m (mod p).
A note on Taskinen's counterexamples on the problem of topologies of Grothendieck
Authors: Bonet Jose , Galbis Antonio
Published: December 2008

By the work of Taskinen (see [4, 5]), we know that there is a Fréchet space E such that Lb(E, l2) is not a (DF)-space. Moreover there is a Fréchet–Montel space F such that is not (DF). In this second example, the duality theorem of Buchwalter (cf. [2, §45.3]) can be applied to obtain that and hence is a (gDF)-space (cf. [1, Ch. 12 or 3, Ch. 8]). The (gDF)-spaces were introduced by several authors to extend the (DF)-spaces of Grothendieck and to provide an adequate frame to consider strict topologies.
Diffusive waves in inhomogeneous media
Authors: Fife Paul C.
Published: December 2008

When the function f(u) is of “bistable type’, i.e. has two zeros h̲ and h+ at which f' is negative and (for simplicity) has only one other zero between them, then the constant functions u = h± are L∞-stable solutions of the nonlinear diffusion equation

In addition, there are travelling wave solutions u+(x, t) and u̲(x, t) which, if

connect h+ to h̲ in the sense that

the convergence being uniform on bounded x-intervals. These solutions are of the form

where U(z) is a monotone function (the wave's profile), U(±∞) = h±, and the velocity c is a specific positive number depending on the function f.
On the decomposition of the s-radical of a near-ring
Authors: Hartney J. F. T.
Published: December 2008

This paper concerns a Jacobson-type radical for the near-ring N. This radical, denoted by Js(N) has an external representation on a type-0N-group of a very special kind. Such N-groups are said to be of type-s. The main objective of this paper is to decompose Js(N) as a sum Js(N) = J1/2(N) + A + B for N satisfying the descending chain condition for N-subgroups. In this decomposition J1/2(N) is nilpotent and A is the unique minimal ideal modulo which Js(N) is nilpotent.
Completeness of the L1-space of closed vector measures
Authors: Ricker Werner J.
Published: December 2008

The notion of a closed vector measure m, due to I. Kluv´;nek, is by now well established. Its importance stems from the fact that if the locally convex space X in which m assumes its values is sequentially complete, then m is closed if and only if its L1-space is complete for the topology of uniform convergence of indefinite integrals. However, there are important examples of X-valued measures where X is not sequentially complete. Sufficient conditions guaranteeing the completeness of L1(m) for closed X-valued measures m are presented without the requirement that X be sequentially complete.
Kinematic formula and tube formula in space of constant curvature
Authors: Lee Sungyun
Published: December 2008

The Euler characteristic of an even dimensional submanifold in a space of constant curvature is given in terms of Weyl's curvature invariants. A derivation of Chern's kinematic formula in non-Euclidean space is completed. As an application of above results Weyl's tube formula about an odd-dimensional submanifold in a space of constant curvature is obtained.
The fundamental prime ideals of a noetherian prime PI ring
Authors: Lenagan T. H. , Letzter Edward S.
Published: December 2008

Let R be a noetherian prime PI ring and let P be a prime ideal of R. There is a set of prime ideals, the fundamental prime ideals, associated with the injective hull of R/P and denoted by Fund(P). The set Fund(P) is finite, by a result of Miiller. In this paper we give a natural description of Fund(P) in terms of the trace ring of R which strengthens Miiller's result by establishing a uniform bound for the size of Fund(P) for all primes P in the ring.
A further result on the complex oscillation theory of periodic second order linear differential equations
Authors: Gao Shian
Published: December 2008

We prove the following: Assume that , where p is an odd positive integer, g(ζ is a transcendental entire function with order of growth less than 1, and set A(z) = B(ezz). Then for every solution , the exponent of convergence of the zero-sequence is infinite, and, in fact, the stronger conclusion holds. We also give an example to show that if the order of growth of g(ζ) equals 1 (or, in fact, equals an arbitrary positive integer), this conclusion doesn't hold.
The use of Portuguese relationship terms in Kalapalo (Xingu Carib) encounters: changes in a central Brazilian communications network
Authors: Basso Ellen B.
Published: December 2008

The introduction of Portuguese relationship terms into a system used by the Carib-speaking Kalapalo is explained in terms of internal social developments rather than language contact or acculturation. Upper Xingu Society is described as a linguistically diverse communications network that operates within two types of situations: ‘personal’ situations which emphasize verbal codes and focus on individual relationships and roles, and ‘non-personal’ situations which emphasize non-verbal ritualized performance in an intervillage context, focusing on local group identity rather than the qualities of individual ‘persons’. The adoption of Portuguese terms represents an elaboration of the system by which certain kinds of male relatives are designated as ‘persons’, and in the context of interaction between men speaking mutually unintelligible languages has circumvented the problem of language loyalty for intervillage communication. (Lexical borrowing, language loyalty, relationship terms, South American languages.)
Linguistic variation, context, and meaning: A case of -ing/in' variation in North American workers' speech
Authors: Huspek Michael R.
Published: December 2008

The variable rule method of accounting for linguistic variability suffers on two counts: (1) it is insensitive to social context; (2) it regards meaning as irrelevant (variability being treated as different ways of “saying the same thing”). Given these shortcomings, an alternative approach sensitive to social context and the relevance of meaning is recommended. The proposed alternative approach, scaffolded on an ethnography of communication base, is then used to support an analysis of -ing/in' variability in some North American industrial workers' speech. The analysis indicates that instances of morphophonemic variation, contrary to what proponents of the variable rule method have suggested, may express a number of various meanings that express, reflect, and reproduce speakers' life experiences. The analysis also enables us to develop a set of theoretical statements that explain the motivations of workers' selections of a low prestige variant and why workers' reliance on a low prestige variant persists. (Ethnography of communication, variable rule methodology, social class dialect, morphophonemic variation)
Expressive style and culture: Individualism and group orientation contrasted
Authors: Billings Dorothy K.
Published: December 2008

Herein I examine the parallel, contrasting analyses of expressive patterns proposed by Bernstein for language, by Lomax for song, and by my interpretation of the arts and cultures of two Melanesian societies. The general thesis of this paper is that expressive patterns are related to cultural patterns in systematic ways, and that analysis of societies in terms of a contrast between individualism and group orientation reveals and documents one of those ways. Description of social structures in relation to this contrast is old, but its extension to expressive patterns is recent in anthropology. I argue that this model accounts for fundamental structural distinctions which underlie cultural contrasts in expressive patterns. (Sociolinguistics, conversational analysis, Melanesia, anthropological linguistics, ethnography of speech, isomorphism of expressive forms and social structure)
Language attitudes in Guangzhou, China
Authors: Kalmar Ivan , Yong Zhong , Hong Xiao
Published: December 2008

Cantonese and non-Cantonese students of the Guangzhou (Canton) Foreign Language Institute took part in a matched-guise experiment, expressing judgments about two samples of speech produced by the same person but presented as coming from two different speakers. In one sample the person spoke good Putonghua (Mandarin), in the other a Putonghua heavily influenced by Cantonese. All judges tended to agree that what they thought was the better Putonghua speaker would have a better chance for social advancement. However, Cantonese judges also showed some positive evaluation of a “heavy Cantonese accent” in the sphere of personal empathy. Such empathy was stronger among male than among female Cantonese. Similar attitudes regarding a “high” (Putonghua) and a “low” (Cantonese) variant in a multilingual society are typical for most Western societies that sociolinguists have studied. They now seem to be equally typical for an Oriental, socialist society like that of China. (Chinese dialects, evaluative reactions, comparative sociolinguistics)
Gender and topic
Authors: Kipers Pamela S.
Published: December 2008

This article has two purposes. The first is to examine the relationship between topic and gender on the basis of observation of naturally occurring conversations among all-male, all-female, and mixed gender groups. The second is to undertake an analysis of the relative importance or triviality of these conversations as perceived by the conversants themselves. Several unexpected agreements and differences were found. (Sociolinguistics, conversational topic, gender-related language differences, intuition versus data-based investigation in the study of language, speech acts, English, United States)
Triglossia and Swahili-English bilingualism in Tanzania
Authors: Mkilifi M. H. Abdulaziz
Published: December 2008

The paper addresses itself to the study of the sociological correlates of speech behaviour among bilingual speakers of English and Swahili in Tanzania. Factors influencing language maintenance, code-switching and code-mixing are discussed. Four main phases of language acquisition are considered: the pre-primary school phase, the primary school phase, the secondary-school phase, and the post-secondary school phase.

Three languages with both varying and overlapping roles interact, creating a triglossia situation: first the vernacular or mother-tongue of each particular ethno-cultural group; secondly Swahili, the local lingua franca and national language; thirdly English, the predominant language of higher learning and to a certain extent of official and commercial business.

The paper also discusses the diglossia relationship between the vernacular and Swahili on the one hand and Swahili and English on the other. The developmental state of the languages is dealt with in terms of socially ‘restricted’ and ‘elaborated’ codes.

Urban life tends to impose its own socio-cultural influences on the bilinguals. There is free shifting and mixing between Swahili and English interlocutors, topics and setting.

Lastly the paper raises questions of the sociological and linguistic consequences of the multilingual situation. (Multilingualism, diglossia; code-switching; code-mixing; Swahili; English, national language problems.)
Aspects of Luo Socialization
Authors: Blount Ben G.
Published: December 2008

Socialization is defined as the incorporation of a child into society on the basis of social and linguistic interaction. Central to this process is a child's advancement in communicative skills. As a child progresses in linguistic competence, the structure of interaction changes to accommodate his newfound skills, and underlying these changes are the Luo attitudes and beliefs on child-rearing, language acquisition, and the position of children in society. (Socialization; speech acquisition; social interaction; language attitudes.)
Towards a theory of interpersonal accommodation through language: some Canadian data
Authors: Giles Howard , Taylor Donald M. , Bourhis Richard
Published: December 2008

The study was designed to investigate the process of speech accommodation between bilinguals from two ethnolinguistic groups. It was hypothesized that the greater the amount of effort in accommodation that a bilingual speaker of one group was perceived to put into his message, the more favourably he would be perceived by listeners from another ethnic group, and also the more effort they in turn would put into accommodating back to him. Eighty bilingual English-Canadians were divided into four groups and individually tested. Ss heard on tape a French-Canadian describe a picture and they were required to sketch this while listening. Ss were made fully aware that their speaker had a choice of language for his description. The four groups heard the same male speaker describe the drawing but each in a different guise: (1) French, (2) Mix-mix, (3) Fluent English and (4) Nonfluent English. Ss were then requested to rate their speaker and his performance, and to record a description of another picture themselves for that same French-Canadian to draw later. From analyses of the ratings and the Ss' tapes, the hypotheses were confirmed and different types of accommodation noted. A theoretical framework for these results and other forms of interpersonal accommodation was suggested. (Bilingualism; social interaction; accommodation theory; Canadian French, Canadian English.)
A sliding sense of obligatoriness: The poly-structure of Malagasy oratory
Authors: Keenan Elinor O.
Published: December 2008

On the plateau area of Madagascar, the rules for ceremonial speech (kabary), and skill in it, are sources of pride and topics of great interest. The most elaborate use of kabary is in the public marriage request. This event is intended to give honor to the girl's family and to evoke confidence in the boy's family, securing an alliance between them. Conceptions of the ground rules of proper kabary are diverse. There are discussions of them before, within, alongside, and after the event. The diversity includes a broad contrast between the ‘Ancestral Way’ and the ‘New Way’. Social change, but also the interests and strategies of the two parties (the boy's family and the girl's family) are involved in choice of one of these. Crucial to the conduct and success of the event is the notion of an ‘error’. What constitutes an ‘error’ is open to dispute and the significance of particular rules varies with both the strategies of the two parties, and the way in which the event is unfolding. An overriding constraint is that the alliance which the event is to ratify be accomplished. (Speech styles and social structure; ideal speech; conflict of speech norms; performance strategies; ‘error’ in performance; emergent qualities of performances; Madagascar; Malagasy (Malayo-Polynesian).)
Further report on the sociolinguistic survey of multilingual communities: survey of Cayo District, British Honduras
Authors: Page R. B. Le , Christie Pauline , Jurdant Baudouin , Weekes A. J. , Tabouret-Keller Andrée
Published: December 2008

The sociolinguistic survey of Cayo District, British Honduras is here further reported upon (cf. LinS i. 155–72 (1972)). We are concerned with acquisition of language habits in a situation in which the child' verbal behaviour reflects its search for identity and social role. For 280 children, the incidence of five linguistic features in from three to five sections of an interview has been calculated. The linguistic profiles of the children were examined by a computer-programmed cluster analysis. In addition, each child' family and each child were interviewed at home, providing socio-economic data. Analysis is incomplete but does suggest an analogue to the child' acts of identity. The paper illustrates a methodological approach that may be useful in other social situations. (Sociolinguistic identity, multilingualism, creole languages, sociolinguistic survey, cluster analysis, British Honduras.)
Some cognitive implications of informant variability in Zinacanteco speech classification
Authors: Bricker Victoria R.
Published: December 2008

This paper describes some cases of inter- and intra-informant variability which cannot be explained in terms of social and contextual factors, and which do not seem to require probabilistic models to account for them. Analysis of several Zinacanteco speech taxonomies suggests that what are called variant responses are often onlyincompleteresponses, and that if the cognitive system is represented as a taxonomy, then it is a taxonomy which is made up of a number of partial taxonomies, each of which is produced by a different informant or group of informants or by the same informant on different occasions. A frequently used method of ‘controlled eliciting’ is shown to be inherently incapable of guaranteeing the elicitation of complete taxonomies in every interview. For this reason, it is urged that before constructing a model of a cognitive system it is first necessary to establish what is ‘real’ cognitive variation by recognizing and eliminating that variation which results from methodological indeterminacy. (Ethnoscience, cognition, variability, methodology, controlled eliciting, folk taxonomy, speech, Maya languages.)
Talking about doing: lexicon and event
Authors: Agara Michael
Published: December 2008

Sociolinguists have not much attended to participants' terminology for events. For this, the usual ethnosemantic focus on relationships of inclusion within a taxonomic structure is insufficient. Stage-process relationships and case-grammar notions of agent, object, instrument and result are used to account for the conceptual structure encoded in a set of addict's argot terms. It is suggested that the addict's argot functions as a needed, standardized terminology, not just for concealment. (Ethnosemantics, cognitive anthropology, case grammar, generative semantics, argots.)
Linguistics retention and diffusion in Bella Coola
Authors: Newman Stanley
Published: December 2008

The ecological vocabulary of the Bella Coola, who speak a Salish language of the American Northwest Coast, shows a larger proportion of loanwords than of forms retained from the parent language. Over a period of centuries the Bella Coola were in contact with many non-Salish tribes, but the direction of their borrowing was highly selective. Although their most intimate contacts were with speakers of Athapaskan and Wakashan, the overwhelming proportion of their ecological loans are Wakashan. This selectivity is explained by cultural affinity rather than intimacy of contact. (Language and cultural history, sociolinguistics, lexical borrowing, ecological vocabulary, Northwest Coast, Bella Coola Indians.)
Some aspects of social grammar features of one type of question in English and Yoruba
Authors: Grayshon M. C.
Published: December 2008

As a more detailed example leading towards a social grammar of language three emotions are analysed first in English and then in the tonal language Yoruba. It is shown that the communication features in English which lie in intonation and stress related to grammatical position of words in English, require a change of grammar in Yoruba and that these changes are subject to further categorization by utilizing status and solidarity. As a by-product it is shown that the group of paralinguistic phenomena in English are intimately related to the communication of social status and emotion and that there is a possibility of classification by social grammar. (Expressive language, para-linguistics, social grammar, English, Yoruba.)
Androcentrism in prescriptive grammar: singular ‘they’, sex-indefinite ‘he’, and ‘he or she’
Authors: Bodine Ann
Published: December 2008

This paper demonstrates that prior to the beginning of the prescriptive grammar movement in English, singular ‘they’ was both accepted and widespread. It is argued that the prescriptive grammarians' attack on singular ‘they’ was socially motivated, and the specific reasons for their attack are discussed. By analogy with socially motivated changes in second person pronouns in a variety of European languages, it is suggested that third person pronoun usage will be affected by the current feminist opposition to sex-indefinite ‘he’ – particularly since the well-established alternative, singular ‘they’, has remained widespread in spoken English throughout the two and a half centuries of its ‘official’ proscription. Finally, the implications of changes in third person singular, sex-indefinite pronouns for several issues of general interest within linguistics are explored. (Language change, sex roles and language, language attitudes, language planning, prescriptive grammar, pronouns.)
Phonological change and the development of an urban dialect in Illinois
Authors: Callary Robert E.
Published: December 2008

The distribution of raised, nasalized variants of /æ/ in such words as hat, bag, and back in the speech of many Illinoisans cannot be explained by geographical or historical processes; rather the correlations are nearly isomorphic between raised variants of /æ/ and the size of the community in which the speaker was raised. Generally, the higher the variants, the more urban the speaker's background. Raised variants of /æ/ are discussed as they relate to contemporary sound change, to urban distributions, and to phonological context. (Urban dialects, sound change, American English, Illinois.)
Tone of voice in Japanese conversation
Authors: Benjamin Gail R.
Published: December 2008

An experimental study of the role of tone of voice in Japanese conversations, using both Japanese and American subjects, has uncovered situational determinants of voice quality not related to emotion. Some of these variations are perceived differently by the two sets of subjects, some in the same way. The nature of the situational determinants casts new doubt on the plausibility of ‘language’ as a natural subset of human communications. (Tone of voice, non-linguistic communication, ethnography of communication, Japan.)
Community attitudes toward Black English
Authors: Hoover Mary Rhodes
Published: December 2008

Black English is increasingly recognized as a systemic, ‘rule-governed’, form of language (lect), like any other, at least among scholars. There is less adequate understanding of the meaning of Black English to those who use it. Such understanding requires ethnographic study of the place of Black English in the verbal repertoire of the community in which it is used. There has been some work in this area, but much of it has focused on aspects of Black English of interest for linguistic theory, e.g. the possibility of creole origins as a constraint on variability. Such studies have tended not to recognize the full scope and complexity of Black English. The aspects given attention have been those most exotic and remote from conventional English (for criticism on this point, see Abrahams (1972) and Wright (1972) ). While such studies have increased recognition and acceptance of Black English, the model in terms of which they have done so has been implicitly the ‘other culture’ model. There has been an appeal to the acceptance of cultural difference associated in our minds with Ruth Benedict's studies of Patterns of Culture, Margaret Mead's studies in Samoa and New Guinea, etc. This ‘other culture’ model is inadequate to the situation of the Black Community. There is partial truth to it; respect for the ways in which Black Americans may differ from ‘mainstream’ expectations is necessary. But social policy and action, especially in regard to education, cannot be based on so partial a truth. This became clear when well-meaning scholars attempted to introduce elementary school readers that used vernacular Black English. There was great protest from many in the Black community itself.
The organization of turns at formal talk in the classroom
Authors: Mchoul Alexander
Published: December 2008

Beginning with a consideration of some commonsense and professional conceptions of what a formal situation might comprise, this paper goes on to ask the question: where along a linear array which has its poles in exemplars of formal and informal speech-exchange systems, can classroom talk be placed? Its answer is given in part in the form of rules for the taking of turns in classrooms, these being modifications of those, already established in the literature, for natural conversation. These rules allow for and require that formal classroom situations be constructed so as to involve differential participation rights for parties to the talk depending on their membership of the social identity-class ‘student/teacher’. The analyses which follow examine some of the applications and violations of these rules found in audio and video recordings of naturally occurring classroom talk (and transcripts thereof) for their orderliness as orientations to these rules. It is argued that the rules provide a systematic basis for the ‘feelings’ of ‘formality’ that researchers and participants have of such situations and that a decision as to the ‘formality’ or otherwise of a social situation can be predicated on the degree of pre-allocation involved in the organization of turns at talk in the situation. (Configuration and distance in interaction, conversational analysis, turn-taking systems, classroom language, sociology of education; British and Australian English).
Children's disputes in three speach communities
Authors: Lein Laura , Brenneis Donald
Published: December 2008

Despite considerable recent research on child discourse, there has been little controlled cross-cultural work. Numerous valuable studies of children's speech events in specific societies are available, but comparisons are largely anecdotal and informal. Similarly, several analytical schemata have been developed to deal with particular types of discourse in particular societies (see, for example, Sinclair & Coulthard 1975; Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson 1974 Brenneis & Lein 1977; Watson & Boggs 1977), but their applicability in other contexts has not been tested. Comparative research is necessary both to test the generality of interpretations of child discourse based on research in one society and to explore the cross-cultural utility of analytical methods.
Some features of early child–adult dialogues
Authors: Ervin-Tripp Susan
Published: December 2008

Adaptations to a partner perceived to be conversationally incompetent can be heard in speech to children, the hard-of-hearing, foreigners, speakers with certain speech defects, the aged, and hospital patients. These adaptations may be controlled partially by the actual performance of partners in conversations, through influences on perceived ability. The first half of this paper describes specific changes in children's conversational abilities in early childhood, which in turn may serve to alter how their partners judge their abilities to understand. The second half of the paper addresses the evidence regarding the level and types of changes in adult speech to children as the child's ability changes.
Toward a probabilistic automata model of some aspects of code-switching
Authors: Dearholt D. W. , Valdés-Fallis G.
Published: December 2008

As Kolers (1972) has pointed out, the study of bilingualism offers a distinctive way to study some of the mental activities underlying the way that people use language. Code-switching (the introduction into the context of one language stretches of speech which exhibit primarily the other language's phonological and morphological features) offers a unique opportunity for studying some of the more complicated aspects of bilingual speech, particularly regarding the momentary choice of language. Researchers whose work has influenced this paper include Haugen, Weinreich, Mackey, Fishman, Rayfleld, Clyne, Hasselmo, Gumperz, Diebold, Lance, Valdés-Fallis, Pfaff, and Timm. Among the list of poorly understood phenomena in code-switching are (I) seemingly unpredictable switching, and (2) the possibility of formal, complex rules underlying different code-switching patterns. It is these open questions which modelling might illuminate.
Speech differences between women and men on the wrong track?
Authors: Brouwer Dédé , Gerritsen Marinel , De Haan Dorian
Published: December 2008

Over the last few years the methods and techniques used in sociolinguistics have aroused keen interest and have continually been improved. Yet the claims that have been made about differences of degree between the language used by women and that used by men are often based on research methods which seem to be anything but reliable. On the basis of a corpus of 587 utterances produced in buying a train ticket, an investigation was made of whether there is a statistically significant difference between women and men in certain aspects of their language use which have been mentioned in the literature: the number of words used to deal with a set task, diminutives, civilities, forms of language expressing insecurity (repetitions, hesitations, self-corrections, requests for information). In addition to the independent variable of sex of speaker, three other variables were introduced: sex of addressee, age of speaker, and time of ticket purchase (rush-hour or normal). The results of our investigation indicate that there are few significant differences between the language used by women and that used by men in this particular situation, with regard to the variables mentioned above. As a consequence, this investigation has demonstrated once again that intuitions should be considered critically. It is remarkable, however, that sex of addressee seems to affect almost all of the variables under consideration. Consequently, the results strongly suggest that anyone who wants to investigate language by means of interviews must take into account the fact that the kind of language used does not depend only on the informant, but just as much on the addressee. (Language and sex, investigation methods, influence of addressee on speaker.)
Colors and culture change in Southwest Iran
Authors: Friedl Erika
Published: December 2008

An examination of recent changes in the color terminology of a Lurispeaking pepole in Iran shows a strong cultural basis of perception, categorization, and manipulation of colors. Compared to the familiar evolutionary model of the development of color categories, this case constitutes a slight deviation in the position of the colors brown and purple and suggests a qualification of the respective evolutionary stages as well as an expansion of the model's predictive hypotheses. (Color terms, evolutionary universals in linguistic change, Lur language, Iran.)
Hypercorrection and rule generalization
Authors: Decamp David
Published: December 2008

Hypercorrection is always a function of rule generalization, though the converse does not hold. It is therefore a sociolinguistic term, not definable in purely linguistic terms. What is generalized is not necessarily the original rule of the grammar. It may be an added rule symmetrical to it. These symmetrical rules are not necessarily ‘Last rules’, for their output may undergo further non-hypercorrect rules. (Hypercorrection, sociolinguistics, phonological theory, historical phonology.)
The communicative competence of bilinguals: some hypotheses and suggestions for research
Authors: Gumperz John J.
Published: December 2008

A model for the description of bilingual speech is proposed which focuses on the linguistic and social constraints governing the speaker's selection of variables within a single complex linguistic repertoire. The model will be tested with field data from bilingual communities in India and Austria and results will be compared with relevant data on American English. The traditional dichotomy between bilingual and monolingual behavior is discarded and differences between the communities will be described in terms of the level of linguistic structure at which variables appear, the rules governing their co-occurrence and the social meanings they communicate. The goal is to contribute to our knowledge of the linguistic and social nature of code alternation to provide new insights into communication processes in ethnically diverse societies, and to lay the basis for improved educational strategies.
Synchronic variability and diachronic change in basic color terms
Authors: Kay Paul
Published: December 2008

The main purpose of this paper is to relate recent findings regarding the evolution of basic color term systems to current research in linguistic variation and language change. More specifically it is to provide in the area of lexical semantics a demonstration of the hypothesis that all linguistic change has its roots in synchronic heterogeneity of the speech community (cf. Weinreich, Labov & Herzog (1968: 188) for a general statement of this position, also many empirical demonstrations already reported, such as those by Labov (1972) and Wang (1969) in phonology and by Bickerton (1973) in syntax). Before taking up this topic, I summarize some recent revisions in the basic color term theory itself. (Ethnographic semantics, color terms, language variation, evolutionary universals in linguistic change.)
The question of tag questions in women's speech: they don't really use more of them, do they?↓
Authors: Dubois Betty Lou , Crouch Isabel
Published: December 2008

The authors investigate Robin Lakoff's dual claim that women use tag questions in more conversational situations than do men and that such questions signify an avoidance of commitment, causing the speaker ‘to give the impression of not being really sure of himself, of looking to the addressee for confirmation, even of having no views of his own’. They find that in an at least one genuine social context, men did, and women did not, use tag questions, both formal and informal, so the claim is open to serious doubt. (Sex differences in speech; sociolinguistic method.)
The universality of conversational postulates
Authors: Keenan Elinor Ochs
Published: December 2008

Grice's analysis of conversational maxims and implicatures is examined in the light of Malagasy language and ways of speaking. A cultural contrast in primary assumptions is described. Grician analysis retains usefulness but within the perspective of a comparative typology in which locally valid systems may differ strikingly in what is marked and unmarked. An ethnographic base and ethnological comparison are required. The situation somewhat resembles the situation with regard to grammatical categories addressed by Boas (1911) and Sapir (1921). (Conversational postulates, ways of speaking; English (US), Malagasy (Madagascar)). (DH)
Some sources of cultural variability in the regulation of talk
Authors: Philips Susan Urmston
Published: December 2008

Recent efforts to analyze the structure of talk have focused primarily on the conversation of persons from a white middle-class background. This paper compares the way in which talk is regulated, both verbally and non-verbally, in Anglo interaction with the regulation of talk among Indians of the Warm Springs Reservation, in central Oregon. The purpose of this comparison is to begin to assess the sources and nature of cultural variability in this one aspect of language use. (Ethnography of communication, conversational analysis, nonverbal communication, North American Indians.)
Experimental Linguistics:The goals of Experimental Linguistics
Authors: Berdan Robert H. , Legum Stanley E.
Published: December 2008

Linguistics seeks to understand and explain the real world phenomenon of human language. It does so by making observations and formulating hypotheses about linguistic processes. It is the empirical test of such hypotheses that we refer to as experimental linguistics. If linguistics is to be regarded as an empirical science, its theories of human language must be subject to empirical verification. Such theory-testing requires the accumulation of reliable, researcher-independent language facts. The goal of Experimental Linguistics is to further the simultaneous progress of data accumulation and theory verification. We stress the simultaneity because of the problems inherent in the independent pursuit of either. Linguistic theories are of limited interest for explaining human language if they cannot be subjected to empirical verification. On the other hand, although linguistic data may be of intrinsic interest, their chief value to the discipline is as evidence for theories.
The acquisition of routines in child language
Authors: Gleason Jean Berko , Weintraub Sandra
Published: December 2008

The acquisition of routines is one aspect of language development. Routines such asBye-bye, in contrast to more referential language, appear to be among the earliest acquisitions and are congruent with the sensori-motor child's capacities. This study investigates performance of the highly constrained Hallowe'enTrick or treatroutine in 115 children from 2 to 16 years of age. Changes in competence and the role of parental input are examined in relation to cognitive and social factors. (First routines; the Hallowe'en interaction; children's production; adult participation; adult metalanguage; implications for ethnographic research.)
A rate of change index for language
Authors: Johnson Lawrence
Published: December 2008

Although the rates of changes in language are customarily described in relative terms, this paper presents a method of quantifying the rate of a given change during a specific time period. Utilizing the results of recent studies of sound change in progress, the Rate of Change Index is applied to the data for the purpose of indicating precisely the speed of these changes. Also measured in this manner are the rates of change of a variable in different phonetic contexts and among different social classes. The comparisons made here lend support to two important theories: that linguistic change follows an S-curve and that change proceeds more rapidly in urban than in rural areas. The Index contributes, then, to an inductive model of sociolinguistic change. It is also suggested that the Index can be applied to syntactic and lexical changes as well. (Linguistic change, Sociolinguistics, Phonology.)
Black southern signing,,
Authors: Woodward James C.
Published: December 2008

Recent research in American Sign Language (ASL) has concentrated on demonstrating that ASL, a language channelled through the manual—visual modality, has linguistic properties similar to those of oral languages, except for physical sound. The absence of sound, however, really presents no theoretical problem since ASL has a formational level of structure analogous to, but not dependent on, the phonological component of oral languages (Stokoe 1960; Battison 1974).

This paper will discuss a relatively new area of research in Sign linguistics, ethnic—social variation. Because of attitudes and educational policy, Black signers in the South have developed different varieties of signing from Whites. Concentrating primarily on Black signs in Georgia, this paper will discuss some of the lexical and formational (phonological) variation observed in old and young Black signers. (Sociolinguistic variation; sign languages; linguistic change; minority group languages.)
The clarification request as a feature of adult interactive styles with young children
Authors: Corsaro William A.
Published: December 2008

The analysis of videotaped naturally occurring adult—child interaction led to the isolation of the clarification request as a consistent feature of adult interactive styles. The analysis of the form and function of adult clarification requests demonstrated the importance of the interactive demands adults encounter when interacting with young children. The nature of these interactive demands and how adults deal with them are discussed in regard to Cicourel's (1970) notion of interpretive procedures. Finally, a discussion of the possible effects of adult interactive style on the child's development of communicative competence is presented. (Developmental sociolinguistics, conversational analysis, adult—child interaction, US English.)
Variable data and linguistic convergence: Texts and contexts in Chipewyan
Authors: Scollon Ronald
Published: December 2008

In the contemporary speech community of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, there is evidence that the four languages, Chipewyan, Cree, French, and English, have converged to a considerable extent. Although at first this convergence appears to have developed since Fang-Kuei Li's 1928 work on Chipewyan in the same community, an examination of other sources which have been considered unreliable shows this convergence to have been stable for as long as 100 years. The view of Chipewyan as a discrete, historical variety, unaffected by convergence, is then shown to have been a joint product of the interaction between the linguist, Li, and his informant, François Mandeville. (Linguistic convergence, linguistic change, fieldwork, ethnography of speaking, history of linguistics; Chipewyan (Athapaskan) of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada.)
Omniscience and ignorance: Variation in Nuaulu knowledge, identification and classification of animals
Authors: Ellen Roy F.
Published: December 2008

The ethnographic analysis of categories is still largely based on assumptions of cultural uniformity, although, during the past decade, the significance of variation has become increasingly evident as attempts have been made to measure it. Delineation and measurement are themselves complex tasks, however. In a single body of data there may be variation according to many criteria which are often cross-cutting and reinforce each other irregularly. These issues are discussed in this paper in relation to different types and contexts of variation evident in animal classifications of the Nuaulu of eastern Indonesia. Yet, the kinds of assumptions made in formal studies of individual variation are as problematic as those concerning cultural uniformity. It is important to appreciate that the techniques and representations employed to describe classifications and their variation are often inadequate, concealing those things that are operationally of most significance and reifying ‘classifications’ which do not always exist in practice. The products of classifying behaviour inevitably reflect the immediate social conditions of the situations in which they are used. (Analysis of categories, cultural variability, ethnozoology, social context; Nuaulu of eastern Indonesia.)
Quechua's loss, Spanish's gain
Authors: Lefebvre Claire
Published: December 2008

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an aspect of the adaptive property of languages. While scholars have shown that expansion in function is correlated with expansion of the linguistic structure, I show that a loss of function by a language may entail a loss of a particular linguistic distinction. The data used to illustrate this point are drawn from the bilingual community of Cuzco, Peru. (Language contact, the adaptive property of languages, linguistic variation, linguistic change.)