Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) is an extinct village sign language hypothesized to be a sister of British Sign Language (BSL) and a significant contributor to early American Sign Language (ASL) (Groce 1985). After the last deaf MVSL signer died, signs were elicited from five hearing signers. This study analyzes that data through a series…

This article concerns Northern Catalonia, the part of the Catalan-speaking area that today is in France. A Catalan-speaking region until the first half of the twentieth century, the effects of Frenchification -- the acceptance of the French political and economic project in the contemporary era -- and the multiple demographic changes of the…

French colonies were created for the benefit not of the indigenous conquered peoples but of the home country. Their borders were set for political convenience and produced a jumble of ethnicities, languages, and cultures. Exploitation came first, and there was generally no attempt to find a workable educational solution to the local diversity.…

Examinations of the etymology of American Sign Language have typically involved superficial analyses of signs as they exist over a short period of time. While it is widely known that ASL is related to French Sign Language, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of this historic relationship between their lexicons. This article presents…

This paper assumes that language and educational policies are manifestations of the interdependence between linguistic thought and the prevailing "zeitgeist", and hence that an investigation of these policies from an historical perspective falls squarely within the history of linguistics. The policies discussed here are those by the…

Explores the relationship between revolutionary ideals and the subsequent expansion and promotion of the French language. It is shown, through a linguistic and sociopolitical history of the French Revolution and the French language, that there is no incompatibility between the two and that the movement of Francophonie is a continuation of France's…

Discusses Dutch in the Northern France, specifically the historical retreat of Dutch from Pas-de-Calais, historical evolution of the language situation in the Department du Nord, reactions to official language policy and language loss, characteristics of Flemish in France, alienation from other Dutch dialects by communicative isolation, linguistic…

Cliches are seen as an important part of French culture, with diverse origins (literature, sports, advertising, events, songs), varying longevity, and belonging to different cultural groups for different reasons. It is proposed that their study be an integral part of the study of French civilization. (MSE)

Documents the evolution of the Dutch and French languages. Policy and planning initiatives for both languages are discussed, and organizations responsible for planning initiatives for each language are described. (DJD)

Comments on the prevalence of the expression in France, "a foreign french language," used to designate a variety of activities and institutions devoted to the teaching and learning of French outside of France. The article emphasizes that to affirm the existence of a French language that is foreign to France highlights historical…

Observations on the situation of Provencal based on a study of inhabitants of a small town in Provence. A situation leading to abandonment of a language is described. It is indicated that the dissociation of all defining elements of a language corresponds to the process of abandonment of the language. (AMH)

Traces the history and describes the present state of France's regional languages (Alsacien, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish, and Occitan) and analyzes the common problems encountered by speakers of these languages. (Author/CB)

Recent research in sociolinguistics has demonstrated the need for looking at language in a dynamic framework, that is, for not imposing the traditional synchronic-diachronic dichotomy on linguistic studies. Support for the dynamic framework has been given from various oral languages. This paper attempts to test variation theory with historically…

This article discusses structural factors responsible for a number of subtle differences in the outcome of language contact in Brussels (Belgium) and Strasbourg (France), and suggest that sociolinguistic factors have little explanatory power in this area. Differences between the rules for past participle formation in Dutch as spoken in Brussels…