Cross-nationally, urbanization is associated with the decline of minority languages and a shift towards national and official languages. But the processes that link urbanization with language shift have not been adequately documented. In this paper we consider the relationship between cities and language shift from a sociolinguistic perspective,…

The 2011 Census in England broke new ground, as a question about language had never previously been asked. After stakeholder consultations and a series of trials, the census authority decided on two questions based on earlier censuses in the USA: one about the respondent's "main language" and another about proficiency in English. This…

The scholarly praise for linguistic diversity stands in an interesting contrast to the way diversity in standard and non-standard languages is referred to in language policy discourse. Drawing on recent debates in Switzerland, this article focuses on ideologies on linguistic varieties in the German- and Romansh-speaking areas. The two contexts…

This article presents the findings of an online survey conducted amongst bi- (English, Italian) and trilingual (English, Italian and dialect) Italo-Australian youth, exploring self-assessed language competence, self-reported language choice in various communicative situations, and attitudes towards heritage languages. These young people appear…

In the post-apartheid era, South Africa has adopted a language policy that gives official status to 11 languages (English, Afrikaans, and nine Bantu languages). However, English has remained the dominant language of business, public office, and education, and some research suggests that English is increasingly being spoken in domestic settings.…

This paper provides an analysis of language shift from African languages to English (and Afrikaans) in South Africa, using home language data from the South African population census (1996 and 2001). Although census data have been criticised for its "essentialist" construction of language, they nevertheless provide sociolinguists with a…

A critical period for language learning is often defined as a sharp decline in learning outcomes with age. This study examines the relevance of the critical period for English-speaking proficiency among immigrants in the USA. It uses microdata from the 2000 US Census, a model of language acquisition and a flexible specification of an estimating…

This study considers the relationship between Cajun ethnicity and the intergenerational transmission of the French language. The commonsensical assumption of a positive relationship between ethnic identity and language transmission is questioned. It is suggested that if an ethnicity is associated with socioeconomic disadvantages, then the greater…

Examines the Irish language community in Northern Ireland, and questions the validity of the census results of 1991. Particular focus is on the concept of a mother tongue and its relevance for speakers of Irish in the United Kingdom. Discusses measures to improve the status of Irish as a result of the Good Friday Agreement. (Author/VWL)

Analyzes and compares the Canadian francophone minorities of Ontario and New Brunswick in order to see how well they have done in preserving their identity and in achieving economic success. The analysis is performed with data from the 1981 and 1991 censuses. (Author/JL)

Examines statistics on minority illiteracy from the 1990 Chinese national census across age groups in relation to China's changing language policy among three types of minority communities: those with writing systems of historically broad usage; those with historically limited usage; and those without functional writing systems. (Author/VWL)

Brings together the Census data from 1891 to 1991 on the numbers of Irish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh speakers in all part of the British Isles, with the exception of England. Concentrates on changes in the age structure of the Celtic-language-speaking populations as well as on the percentage of people speaking the language. (Author/JL)

Reviews variations in levels of English-language proficiency among immigrants from non-English-speaking countries to Australia. Data on 27 of the largest birthplace groups are used from the 1996 census. Discusses immigrants' motivation to learn English and be included in Australian society and Australian policies regarding immigration-selection…

Twelve languages--including the two prestigious colonial languages, English and French, a French-based creole and "ancestral" languages, such as Hindi and Mandarin--are spoken on the multiethnic island Mauritius. Given the multilingual and multiethnic nature of the nation, linguistic practices are an important way for Mauritians to…