South Africa is a country characterised by great linguistic diversity. Large indigenous languages, such as isiZulu and isiXhosa, are spoken by many millions of people, as well as the languages with European roots, such as Afrikaans and English, which are spoken by several millions and used by many more in daily life. This situation provides a…

The role and use of Spanish in the geographic areas outside of the U.S. Southwest are examined in a collection of 16 conference papers. The papers address the general topics of language contact, linguistic variation, sociolinguistic factors, and language maintenance policy, and planning. Among the specific issues discussed are: a dialectology of…

This introduction to bilingualism is designed with the undergraduates especially in mind. Since its primary concern is with the bilingual individual, it does assume some knowledge of the basic principles of linguistics. Less detail is accorded to societal bilingualism since the premise is that sociological aspects of bilingualism should be…

The lives of many families involve contact with more than one language and culture on a daily basis. This book is aimed at the many parents and professionals who feel uncertain about the best way to go about helping children gain maximum benefit from the situation. Every family's situation is different, but there is much parents can do to make…

The Spanish dialects of the Southwest United States have received little serious attention until recently. The present volume contains studies designed to contribute to the understanding and acceptance of Southwest Spanish. The book consists of the following chapters: (1) "Linguistic Diversity in Southwest Spanish," by Garland D. Bills…

Fifteen articles review code-switching in the four major areas: policy implications in specific institutional and community settings; perspectives of social theory of code-switching as a form of speech behavior in particular social contexts; the grammatical analysis of code-switching, including factors that constrain switching even within a…

The following articles are included in this anthology on Chicano speech: (1) "Mexican Spanish," D.N. Cardenas; (2) "The Archaic and the Modern in the Spanish of New Mexico," J. Ornstein; (3) "Problemas Lexicograficos del Espanol del Sudoeste," A.M. Espinosa, Jr.; (4) "Associative Interference in New Mexican Spanish," J.B. Rael; (5) "Some Aspects…

Concerns that parents might have about raising their children bilingually are addressed, and a case study of an Australian family pursuing this course over an 8-year period is presented. In addition, relevant research into bilingualism is cited. Bilingualism means having command of two languages, and bilinguals can range from the rare equilingual…

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the literature on second language acquisition in childhood, viewed in terms of contemporary process models. After a general introduction on bilingualism in society, six major topics are considered: first-language acquistion, language acquisition and learning in childhood and adulthood, simultaneous…