text_combined: accents classroom received number helpful informative responses colleagues grateful please find digest responses first barbara partee provided background information case playing practically backyard july 7 1992 barbara partee partee cs umass edu wrote keeping eye westfield accent uproar far something paper almost every day including editorials glad help keep updated news would appreciate receiving references find research shows parents nothing worry article local paper today reactions said last paragraph linguists said long teacher comprehensible parents concerned good model classroom help children become americanized quickly speech little worry names references happened early last week petition signed 403 residents westfield mass given school board response decision reassign two bilingual education teachers positions normal classroom teachers petition urges teacher assigned first second grades thoroughly proficient english language terms grammar syntax important accepted standardized use pronunciation mayor city greek immigrant accent proponent english laws chair city school committee vocally favor petition denounced state secretary education piedad robertson native cuba former kindergarten teacher immediately came statement proposal would appear discrimination plain simple petition instead fostering acceptance cultural diversity would appear encourage bigotry racism discrimination mayor phone interview june 30 dismissed attack bovine scatology state attorney general offered th opinion plan would almost certainly violate state antidiscrimination laws article today articles quoting daily hampshire gazette northampton though also mention sunday nytimes says mayor george varelas says getting calls country mostly agreeing point view two parents started drive expressing great surprise wife spanish portuguese descent become distraught accusations bigotry taken avoiding people city 36000 population broad ethnic mix like one reads english movement great deal debate whether racist xenophobic etc little fundamental question raised namely fact effect acquisition english children classes throughout last week forwarding responses barbara updating story things evolved july 8th contacted reporter westfield paper asked course received permission use materials interview paper july 9th barbara wrote way heard second hand school committee subcommittee thereof voted morning 3 0 adopt petitioners request know evening news expect newspaper article stuff went appear tomorrow morning let know happening quicker coming emphatically right side expected article appeared friday july 10th barbara likely post monday see reporter absolutely fascinated fact ongoing worldwide discussion issue computer net issue paper ran syndicated column william raspberry subject yet found paper available runs bill raspberry chronicle substance responses couple people suggested petitioners concern teachers comprehensible grade school students course legitimate concern many states school corporations universities taken measures protect students incompetent english speakers apparently however petitioners concern core issue belief students would acquire foreign accent teacher responses subject shared conviction could happen michael covington mcovingt uga cc uga edu rather limited experience children nt even influenced foreign accents _ parents _ much less teachers cliff miller miller defun cs utah edu course possible grade school student influenced teacher foreign accent highly unlikely complete longlasting perhaps important question matter grew several different places english undergone number shifts even japanese accent english quite native nt think different stages went harm craig thiersch thiersch kub nl afraid nt citations linguistics literature phonologist nt today right less common knowledge children virtually always acquire accent peers parents teachers adults think countless examples experience instance used live boston cut local accent knife played organ church arlington mass pastor wife mid west children strong towny arlington accents amy sheldon asheldon vx acs umn edu interested learning daughter never acquired pronunciations 3 adults home differed assume local dialect add 9 12 year olds father quebec french pronunciations translations speech occasions speech forms usage seem get rid learn local dialect speech persist also recently asked thought daddy foreign accent said nt think must admit stop think second realize indeed accent reflection kids admit sense nt think minute minute basis speaking differently us though certain pronunciations translations occasion may strike us noticeably imagine students class nonnative teacher muight perceptions esp teacher fluent english although accent good applied linguistics example references discussion yielded far contributed catherine doughty susan ervin tripp catherine doughty catherine doughty linguistics su edu au ability affected phonology seems earliest thing go terms maturational constraints language acquisition see work johnson newport 1989 cognitive psychology 21 j n set age beginning decline 5 6 another interesting case analogous ways others case simon profoundly deaf child profoundly deaf parents simon parents late acquirers asl learned ages 16 15 provided nonnative different versions asl child source input simon goes normal school one knows asl simon asl comparable asl children learn asl native signers e g nativelike singleton 1989 dissertation susan ervin tripp ervintr cogsci berkeley edu would nearly impossible child influenced accent grade school teacher unless prestige accent community child knew labov showed convincingly kids get accents peers hand ran reported cases children preserved accents immigrant parents unusual cases socially isolated children example clinical literature found case 8 year old immigrated 3 still father accent psychoanalyzed lost accent spoke like peers became able mimic accent buxbaum psychoanalytic quarterly 18 279289 1949 victor raskin raskin j cc purdue edu professor english linguistics 317 4943782 chair interdepartmental program linguistics 4943780 fax coordinator natural language processing laboratory purdue university w lafayette 47907 u