To keep the balance between internal and external needs in a modern world regional languages should be used as the media of instruction at the elementary level. Standardized link languages should be introduced at some point in the secondary level to ease the transition from monolingualism to multilingualism. Available from Humanities Press, Inc.,…

Surveys the linguistic situation as well as the organization of foreign language instruction in the countries of Western Europe. Although linguistic diversity would serve rather than hinder mutual comprehension and cooperation, monolingualism is the usual tendency in most of the countries with the exception of Holland and Luxemburg. (Text is in…

Language planning involves decisions of two basic types: those pertaining to language choice and those pertaining to language development. Linguistic theory is needed to evaluate the structural suitability of candidate languages, since both official and national languages must have a high level of standardization as a cultural necessity. On the…

This article summarizes the results of a study undertaken to investigate the question of second language retention by federal bilingual employees in Canada. (CLK)

The speech, half in French and half in English, is an endorsement of the association, an indication of political, social and educational reforms it might influence, a reminder that members of the association, Canadian Parents for French, were present and interested, and an appeal for good public relations. (AMH)

Anglo-Australians remain monolingual and Anglophile in their attitudes. They show preference for standard or prestige varieties of English. Second generation members of immigrant groups are under strong pressure to assimilate and to abandon their community languages. They may have more negative attitudes toward non-standard accents in English than…

The "consociational" political system of Belgium responds to the needs of the country's three major ethnic communities: Dutch, French, and German. All decision-making power has been transferred to regional and local governments. In order to find policy decisions acceptable to all groups, most decisions are based on accommodations and…

This book surveys situations in which language contact arises and focuses on what happens to the languages themselves: sometimes nothing, sometimes the incorporation of new words, sometimes the spread of new sounds and sentence structures across many languages and wide swathes of territory. It outlines the origins and results of contact-induced…

This report describes the development and approval of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. After discussing the expression of consent to the European Charter, the report focuses on the ratification process of and obligations assumed by Spain. Although Spain was one of the first signatories in 1992, the ratification was not…

This paper describes the impact of the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in the United Kingdom, examining the history and current demographic and social position of the various languages to which the Charter applies. The first section, "Linguistic Minorities in the United Kingdom: Historical Development…

Notwithstanding the barriers posed by multiplicity of languages, inherited colonial policies, and negative state and citizen attitudes, West African experience supports a policy of using the mother tongue rather than a foreign language as the medium of instruction in schools at all levels. (Author/MJL)

The Radio-Assisted Teaching in the Elementary Schools (RATES) project conducted a two-year exploratory study to assess the effectiveness of tape-assisted instruction in large elementary school classes in the Philippines. Subjects were students in grades four-six studying communication arts in Pilipino, their native language. Eight references are…

Argues that the most fundamental aspect of language rights is the freedom of choice to use a language for a given purpose to realize one's interests. Discusses how the legitimate interests of the state and the individual, particularly the speaker of a minority language, do not always coincide. (nine references) (Author/CK)