Xinjiang has witnessed constant state attempts to reinforce the status of Mandarin Chinese as 'the Common Language' and to make local Turkic languages -- mainly Uyghur and Kazak -- more 'suitable' to the modern world. Official efforts to transform the linguistic landscape of Xinjiang have engaged in a complex interplay with Turkic speakers' own…

This paper maps out the linguistic history of nation-building in the Philippines through the politics of "p" and "f" in the country. This politics concerns the various strategic acts of naming the national language at different periods of the country's history that have shaped its fate as the most hegemonic indigenous…

Greater China is used in this article to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Macao. While a holistic approach is adopted to present and compare the rapid spread of English and development in English language education in these geographically close, and sociopolitically, culturally and economically interrelated but hugely…

Nepali, the official language of administration of Nepal, has been privileged through systematic political manoeuvres throughout its history. English also enjoys special status and privileges, and despite the fact that it is officially only a "foreign" language, in practice it is one of the most dominant languages in educational and…

The connections between immigration and language policy and planning in Quebec and Canada are long established. With the continuing upward trajectory in levels of immigration to Canada and Quebec the linguistic integration of these new arrivals remains an important topic. In recent years, Asia has overtaken Europe as the leading source of…

The unavoidability of language makes it critical that language policies appeal to some notion of language neutrality as part of their rationale, in order to assuage concerns that the policies might otherwise be unduly discriminatory. However, the idea of language neutrality is deeply ideological in nature, since it is not only an attempt to treat…

The Han sphere, including Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China, adopted Han characters and classical Han writing as the official written language before the 20th century. However, great changes came with the advent of the 20th century. After World War II, Han characters in Vietnam and Korea were officially replaced by the romanised "Chu…

Describes a study which attempts to link micro and macro approaches in the study of societal multilingualism while introducing a diachronic perspective. The sociolinguistic profile of Senegal is used as a point of departure followed by an outline of sociohistorical factors which contributed to language use. Discusses the social implications of…

Describes the sociopolitical and educational implications of the complex linguistic situation in Belgium with particular relevance to aspects of bilingualism present in the bilingual and monolingual areas of the country. An analysis and an explanation of the discrepancy between official policy and public opinion with regard to language are given.…

Problems and issues related to the implementation of a bilingual policy are examined in Singapore, a multiracial, multicultural, and multilingual nation. Bilingualism in Singapore involves a major transformation since English is "claimed," and Singapore bilinguals are increasingly English-knowing bilinguals. Interrelationships between…

European Community initiatives in language management include educational models involved in promoting mastery of at least three languages. The Luxembourg model outlines a trilingual program for the whole school population; the European School model, a complex multilingual program; and the Foyer Project, plans for immigrant minorities to move into…

Clement M. Doke's 1929-1930 research on Zimbabwean languages has played a key role in shaping the tribalised and politicised linguistic terrain that characterises modern Zimbabwe. Doke, professor of linguistics at the University of Witwaters-rand, was commissioned in 1929 by the government of Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) to research…

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…

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)…

The consequences of migration for the position of the Frisian language in the Netherlands are analyzed. An annual model is presented that can estimate the effect of extraprovincial migration on the number of people speaking Frisian at home. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/LB)