Pidgin and creole languages are spoken by more than 75 million people, but the vast majority of their speakers acquire literacy in another language--usually the language of a former colonial power. This paper looks at the origins of pidgins and creoles and explores some of the reasons for their lack of use in formal education. Then it describes…

There is a growing recognition of the need for Americans who are proficient in languages other than English; however, there is a great disconnect between these needs, state English-only education policies, and current federal education policy as realized through the No Child Left Behind Act (NLCB) of 2001. These policies are moving the country in…

The major threat to Native languages embodied in the "English Only" movement is discussed and ways that the United States historically has allowed language freedom is documented. The following points are made: (1) contrary to myth, the United States has never been a monolingual country; (2) for most of U.S. history, the dominant federal…

The following similarities exist between the language situations of the United States and Australia: (1) both countries have developed and prospered through overseas immigration; (2) until recently, neither country has had a "de jure" official language, only a "de facto" one built around English; (3) in both countries…

The languages used in Madagascar are examined from the following perspectives: the linguistic varieties and functions socially recognized at the community level; the oppositions and complementarities that have become established between languages in contact; and the speakers' attitudes toward those varieties. The report focuses on the following…

Spanish language planning needs and efforts in the public domains of health, law, work, media and communication, citizenship, social welfare, and education are described. For each of these domains, communication inadequacies, planning authorities, plans for alleviating inadequacies, and efforts at implementation of plans are identified. Perceived…

The United States has become increasingly multilingual in recent decades, and while English is the most commonly spoken language, almost 11 percent of Americans prefer to speak another language at home. Bilingualism is promoted by governmental units at the federal, state, and local levels through a variety of programs, particularly in education…

Relates the history of the establishment of the International Court of Justice as of 1944. The major linguistic problem was to decide on which language should be used at meetings, for written communications and for legal documentation. The history of diplomatic languages is discussed. (Text is in French.) Available from Humanities Press, Inc.,…

The pluralistic cultural heritage of Europe should be cherished and the balance of cultures maintained through the preservation of all the existing national languages. English poses a problem in this respect since no one language should be allowed to achieve the status of a linguistic monopoly. (Text is in French.) (TL)

A report is presented of work in syllabus construction and language planning in Finland from the middle of the 1960s to the present. An introductory chapter describes Finland's parallel educational systems, which provide for speakers of the two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, and for instruction in the other national language as well as…

As part of a project involving secondary school teachers in Canadian provinces, the role of language, particularly the use of French by French Canadians in education and in daily life, is considered. In a collection of readings, the contemporary debate over language and the status of official languages in various parts of Canada are reviewed and…

This volume is an attempt to provide the sociology of language with the basic teaching-learning tools needed in order to facilitate its academic growth and consolidation. It provides the students and specialist in language planning with a comprehensive anthology of articles dealing with this area of research in the sociology of language. The…

"Standard Filipino English" is defined in this monograph as "that type of English which educated Filipinos speak, and which is acceptable in educated Filipino circles." (This term should not be confused with the so-called "mix-mix" or "halo-halo" type of speech, which is fairly common in the Manila area, and…

Examines ways authority comes to inhabit language. Schools are directly involved in production and distribution of authoritative discourse. In the French-speaking West Indies students are taught in the official language of authority (the French of France) rather than that of their everyday life (Creole). (Author/LHW)

Most East African nations have adopted the colonial languages of English or French as the medium of communication and education. One notable exception is Tanzania where, while each ethnic group has its own language, Kiswahili serves as an effective lingua franca. (RM)