A dictionary of South African English on historical principles Ed. by Penny Silva, Wendy Dore, Dorothea Mantzel, Colin Mueller, and Madeleine Wright (review)

BOOK NOTICES 445 Ch. 1, 'Dialogic instruction: When recitation becomes conversation' (1-29), sets up the difference between recitation, dominant in American classrooms , and dialogism. Recitation involves prescripted questions which require short, 'right' answers from students and have little coherence. Interaction is procedural and superficial, and students are not frequently engaged. Dialogism focuses on 'the dynamic processes whereby meanings unfold in the interaction of two or more conversants' (10). It recognizes the 'social logic of reciprocity' that characterizes all discourse, though not always classroom discourse. Ch. 2, "The big picture: Language and learning in hundreds of English lessons' (30-74), describes the methods and results of a two-year study conducted in secondary schools. The discourse analysis ofclassroom interactions focused on questions because, according to the authors, they play a key role in either excluding or including the voices of students. Two features which indicated where classroom interaction landed on a continuum from monologic to dialogic were authenticity (whether the question had a prescribed answer or not) and uptake (whether the teacher built on previous answers to ask subsequent questions or not). The results of the study showed that, based on testing, students learned more if the interaction was more dialogic, but few classes were. Ch. 3, ? closer look at authentic interaction: Profiles of teacher-student talk in two classrooms' (75-88), describes two classrooms that seem, on the surface, to contradict the results. However, the authors show that a closer look at the data reveals patterns of interaction that coincide with their findings. In fact, the classroom that seemed dialogic was actually characterized by teacher control of knowledge with test results showing little student learning. The classroom that seemed monologic was characterized by teacher control ofprocess, but a dialogic approach to knowledge which engaged the students and encouraged learning. Ch. 4, 'What's a teacher to do? Dialogism in the classroom' (89-108), discusses ways teachers can review their pedagogy in order to make their classrooms more dialogic. Rather than specific activities, this chapter recommends a réévaluation of views of knowledge, teacher and student roles, and control in the classroom. In short, teachers who abandon the traditional IRE sequence as the only mode of classroom interaction and incorporate a more dialogic discussion allow students to move from rememberers to thinkers. This move to a new epistemology, along with suggestions for enacting it, makes Opening dialogue useful to teachers at any level who want to reevaluate their pedagogical practices and to those who plan curricula. It has an underlying bent against tracking and test-centered teaching which coincides with the view of knowledge and learning advanced in the study. One shortcoming is that, although the authors mention that gender, race, social economic status, etc., all influence the interaction in the classroom, these factors are usually 'controlled for' and rarely discussed. Overall, the authors echo common themes in education, highlight some contradictions in theory and practice, and through examples ofclassroom discourse lead to an understanding reinforcing the need for change. [Lisa H. MacNeilley, Wayne State University .] A dictionary of South African English on historical principles. Ed. by Penny Silva, Wendy Dore, Dorothea Mantzel , Colin Mueller, and Madeleine Wright. Oxford & Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. xxx, 825. It's a rare joy to review a book that is as likable as this one. In the tradition and style of the OED, this volume presents words, meanings, and usages that have developed or been adopted by speakers of South African English (SAfE). English has a unique position among the many languages of South Africa in that it is the most 'neutral' in terms of ethnic and regional identification. As such, it has been adopted as a first or second language by the widest variety of people (from Afrikaner to Zulu), who have left their mark on the language. The words in this dictionary come into the language by a number of means: borrowing, semantic change, coining, and occasionally from British English that has been forgotten elsewhere (e.g. robot as a traffic light). The dictionary not only serves as a source on lexical innovation and change but as a cultural history of South Africa over the past 180 or so years...