Singapore is a multiracial nation with a majority ethnic Chinese population. Since its independence in 1965, it has adopted an 'English-knowing' bilingual policy to achieve economic, social, and political objectives. For the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the percentage of ethnic Chinese Primary One students coming from…

The proliferation of media and their associated platforms is creating radical changes in the way we interact with the world. Social media in particular have increased the manner of communication between people, with on-demand access to content any time, anywhere. With virtual communities being established online through a growing range of…

The use of the notion of "decolonization", applied to indigenous people's schooling, is somehow misleading. It refers to a certain period, namely the colonial period, which officially ended in New Caledonia in 1946, then a French colony and now a French overseas territory. It also refers to contemporary efforts to address the colonial…

This paper describes a case study of language development in rural Papua New Guinea, in which parents felt the local school was not meeting the educational needs of their children. In this case study, the local, national and global narratives concerning use of the vernacular in education were apparent in the negotiation leading to an apparent…

This paper outlines the influences that led to new ethnolect formation among an immigrant group, the Maltese, in Australia. Their sociolinguistic background and new linguistic environment brought about a divergence, particularly in terminology, from Standard Maltese, and necessitated the compilation of a glossary of the new ethnolect, Maltraljan.…

Australia, as far as Aboriginal languages are concerned, is not yet engaged in systematic language planning exercises. This is in contrast to other parts of the world where language planning is institutionalised and enforced. In this paper we chronicle some of the language planning exercises we have observed, been involved in, or have studied of…

Kuot is a language in a critical situation. Most adults of lower middle age and older are full speakers but children are not learning it. In other words, it will become extinct in a few decades if nothing is done; but it is not too late if the community decides to turn it around, and do so fast. Thus far, the community has shown little interest.…

In 1995, the Kadazandusun language was created as a standard form of all the Dusunic group of languages so that it might be taught in schools as a language subject. In the planning of Kadazandusun, terminology building involves both the creation of new terms that appropriate present-day categories and artefacts, and the selection of suitable…

Three Southeast Asian polities, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand share much of their geography, history, culture, religion and language. Not all speakers of more than 100 languages spoken in the area have a sufficient knowledge of the respective national languages, Khmer, Lao and Thai. Yet, for the most part, the national languages are the only…