Pahari speakers form one of the largest ethnic non-European diasporas in Britain. Despite their size and over 60 years of settlement on British shores, the diaspora is shrouded by confusion regarding official and unofficial categorisations, remaining largely misunderstood as a collective with a shared ethnolinguistic memory. This has had…

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…

It is argued that African countries need both local and foreign languages and that the roles of these languages are complementary. An African language can become official and national, and a medium of instruction; the choice is determined by political and socioeconomic factors. (21 references) (Author/LB)

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…

Reviews the history of the language controversy in Puerto Rico from the United States takeover of the island in 1898 through the 1991 and 1993 language laws that eliminated and then restored English as an official language. The article emphasizes the shifting ways that language has served as a symbolic maker. (47 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses bilingual educational policies in Catalonia, where the official aim is to reverse a language shift in favor of Catalan. Chamberlain's response focuses on the decline of Catalan under Franco, similarities between some minority languages in Europe and the language situation in Brunei, and the role of the school and the media in language…

Traces the controversy about the medium of instruction in Pakistan, beginning with the use of English for elitist education in pre-partition days. Notes that the official policy is opposed by the indigenously educated proto-elite, who would find entry into positions of power easier if Urdu was used and nobody was educated in English. (63…

Compares efforts to support minority languages in the developed, industrialized countries of the north and the developing countries of the southern hemisphere. The article examines whether comparable principles are being applied to minority language planning, and if not, what the underlying reasons for the differences are. (33 references)…

Discusses the politics of bilingual education for minorities in China. The article notes that such education has been provided in some minority schools as a part of the government's policy to improve relationships with ethnic minorities in China. (24 references) (Author/CK)

Argues that there is no pressure to make Irish an official language in Northern Ireland because the sociolinguistic preconditions for bilingualism do not exist. The article demonstrates that those Irish who do not speak or learn Irish have no less a sense of having an Irish identity than do fluent speakers or those learning Irish. (26 references)…