decreolization n
the process by which a creolebecomes more like the standard language
from which most of its vocabulary comes. For example, an English-based
creole may become more like Standard English. If educational opportunities
increase in a region where a creole is spoken and the standard language
is taught, then there will be a range from the creole spoken by those with
little or no education to the standard language spoken by those with high
levels of education. This has been happening in countries like Jamaica and
Guyana where there is a range from an English-based creole to a variety
close to standard educated English.
see also post-creole continuum
deduction n
in composition, two ways of presenting an argument are sometimes con-
trasted: reasoning by deduction and by induction. Reasoning by deduction
proceeds from a generalization to particular facts which support it, whereas
reasoning by induction involves moving from particular facts to generaliza-
tions about them.
see also essay
deductive learning n
alsolearning by deduction
an approach to language teaching in which learners are taught rules and
given specific information about a language. They then apply these rules
when they use the language. Language teaching methods which emphasize
the study of the grammatical rules of a language (for example the grammar
translation method) make use of the principle of deductive learning.
This may be contrasted with inductive learning or learning by induction, in
which learners are not taught grammatical or other types of rules directly
but are left to discover or induce rules from their experience of using the
language. Language teaching methods which emphasize use of the language
rather than presentation of information about the language (for example the
direct method, communicative approach, and counselling learning)
make use of the principle of inductive learning.
deep structure n
seegenerative theory
deficit hypothesis n
also verbal deficit hypothesis
the theory that the language of some children may be lacking in vocabulary,
grammar, or the means of expressing complex ideas, and may therefore be
decreolization