Reviews diffusion and promotion of the Spanish language from the first Spanish colonizers in the Americas to the present. Describes the situation of Spanish within Spain as a form of internal colonialization and reviews language policies. Analyzes present-day institutional efforts at maintaining language co-existence within different autonomous…

Discusses language planning and policy in Paraguay, a country that is unique among the countries of the Americas because nearly 90% of the non-indigenous population speaks Guarani, an indigenous language. Highlights an initiative to implement universal, two-way bilingual education in Guarani and Spanish that has resulted in widespread use of…