While there are many difficulties faced by world language educators, both teachers and students of certain languages--languages commonly identified with countries and cultures deemed to be hostile to the United States--often find themselves in uniquely paradoxical situations. This article begins with a brief anecdotal description of the personal…

This article serves as an introduction to a collection of four articles on multilingual practices in speech and writing, exploring both contemporary and historical sources. It not only introduces the articles but also discusses the scope and definitions of code-switching, attitudes towards multilingual interaction and, most pertinently, the…

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…

The aim of this paper is to emphasize, as stressed by St. Clair (1982), the importance of sociohistorical data in any attempt to determine language attitudes, ethnolinguistic identity, and the ecological status of a minority language. This importance is illustrated within the context of research on language attitudes toward isiXhosa, a Nguni…

Explores the widespread acceptance of Bahasa Indonesian as the single national and official language of Indonesia. The discussion focuses on the political, sociocultural, and linguistic forces that have created the strong bond between the language and Indonesians' sense of national identity, and on Indonesia's successful policy of maintaining its…

Discusses accounts of events and pressures influencing the British government's Welsh Office to set up the "Council for the Welsh Language," and reviews the council's composition, tasks, and achievements. Findings indicate that the council was even-handed in its promotion of activities to support Welsh and satisfied the middle ground of…

Traces the reemergence of Spanish and Hebrew--the first languages of the author's son--after 6 years spent in an all English-speaking environment. Data consists of tape-recorded sessions, supplemented by a diary and cards with notes and linguistic examples from ages 6 months to 14 years and 3 months. (Author/VWL)

Introduces alternative approach to a controversial issue in Czech linguistics--the semantics of verbs of the type "rikavat,""delavat," and so on. The article demonstrates that these verbs can be called habitual verbs in the Peircean sense of the term "habit," and the key to the semantics of these verbs is recognizing…

Notes that the Maori Language Commission of New Zealand promoted 1995 as a year to celebrate that language. Points out that the Commission endeavored to encourage the Maori people to use their language; to celebrate the historical status of the language; and to generate goodwill toward the language among the general populace. (seven references)…

Overviews the Ivory Coast's sociolinguistic situation. Standard French, restricted to the elite, is threatened by the local lingua franca. The spread and functional allocations of Dyula and Popular French support the point that the pervasive use of a language does not always lead to its adoption as a national language. (CB)

Considers the evolving pedagogical dilemma surrounding the teaching of "New French" and discusses the various options foreign-language teachers will eventually have to choose among when teaching French. (CB)

An overview of literacy education in West Africa between 1800-1959 precedes an exploration of developments occurring since its independence, focusing on such factors affecting the lack of progress in the battle against literacy as disarticulation between educational development objectives and educational systems, language policies, teaching…

Tok Pisin, New Guinea Pidgin English, is becoming increasingly important as a "lingua franca" in Papua New Guinea, even though English is the country's official language. Urban versus rural and spoken versus written varieties of the pidgin are examined, and the influence of English on Tok Pisin is investigated. 73 references. (Author/CB)

Emphasizes the importance of such language program evaluation aspects as cultural preservation, funding, and language revitalization through a case example of a Canadian program teaching Saskatchewan Indian languages. (CB)