A study of popular attitudes toward and use of Catalan and Castilian Spanish sought to clarify the prestige level of the languages in different areas in Spain. The study focused on the degree to which Catalan has undergone linguistic normalization by extension to all social levels and situations. (Author/MSE)

Examination of a case of artificial language boundaries (Guere versus Wobe) supports arguments for a monolingual nucleus with multilingual satellites in the Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast's multiple languages exaggerate linguistic heterogeneity. Integrating language attitude data into language classification could aid the language planning and…

Examines the sociology of the Esperanto community in the context of a review of 10 surveys. Active speakers reveal that Esperanto functions primarily as a means of informal oral communication and of semiformal written communication. Most speakers do not expect a wider use of this planned language in the short term. (11 references) (Author/CK)

A comprehensive phraseological study of Esperanto, based on detailed test analyses, participant observation and surveys, reveals both similarities and differences in comparison to ethnic or national languages. Relatively high level of metalinguistic consciousness and creativity were observed, coupled with widely differing attitudes towards the…

Reports attitudes toward a 1994 South Africa language policy that declared 11 official languages. The decision had particular significance for the South African national defense force (SANDF). Special focus is on language practices at the Sixth South African Infantry Battalion in Eastern Cape Province. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the language situation in the region of Brittany in France, where the Breton language, a Celtic rather than Romance language, is dying out but a Breton ethnic identity is growing. (Author/JL)

Present-day language policy for the Navajo reflects a lengthy history of attempts to suppress indigenous language varieties. Recent rationalization is rooted in the doctrine of compensatory education, but the suppression is even more total. Alternative policies and practices, rooted in a nonprescriptive view of language variety and progressive…

The history of Esperanto, a language created to promote international communication, is chronicled. Discussion focuses on the origins and development of the language, early attitudes toward its adoption, patterns of use and recognition, the development of a literature in and of Esperanto, the culture associated with the language. (Author/MSE)

Presents current concerns in the field of critical sociolinguistics in such a way that sociologists and linguists otherwise uninterested in Esperanto will see some arguments for approaching Esperanto culture as a source of new insight into fundamental aspects of society and language. (DJD)

An interview with Umberto Eco, novelist and linguist, addresses issues in international communication of the future, and particularly the role of Esperanto in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse world society. Topics discussed include translation, native language and multilingualism, and politics of language. (MSE)

Three sociolinguistic perspectives are considered in a study focusing on the rationale of Israeli linguistic policy toward Arabic. These include (1) school language programs as a matter of linguistic policies of political centers; (2) the relationship of linguistic resources to group boundaries (principally ethnicity); and (3) language resources…

Suggests that Haitian Creole is subject to decreolization, characterized by movement toward French forms. Linguistic conflict and ambivalence on the part of both the bilingual elite and monolingual creole-speaking masses are held responsible. Opposing trends in language standardization and their implications for education are discussed.…

Discusses the background and implications of the 1990 Luso-Brazilian Orthographic Accord signed by the seven nations that have Portuguese as their official language. Concludes that while most of the debate over the accord revolves around issues of linguistic efficiency, the accord and its proponents are primarily concerned with political and…

Discusses the independent Namibian government's goal of making English (currently the mother tongue of less than 5 percent of the population) the official language to unite various race and speech communities into one national entity, and proposes a systems approach to enable language planners to see the relationships between plans and other…

In the Ivory Coast, the official standard French has not been established as the language of the masses and is threatened by Dyula and a Popular French, two lingua francas that have potential as national languages even though the populations do not seem supportive of new language policy. (Author/MSE)