Australia has a language paradox: great richness and great poverty of language resources. Despite its many cultures and immigrant groups, Australia emphasizes English-language assimilation and thereby endangers its chances for durable multilingualism. (MSE)

The account of language use in Accra, capital of Ghana, focuses on the social history of language use and on issues of language choice in a multilingual society. The first chapter gives an account of a language dispute that demonstrates both literally and symbolically the historically rooted relationships of the four main languages of Accra: Ga,…

The large number of languages coexisting on the planet is a reminder of nature's universal penchant for diversity. Foreign languages are foreign in different ways to different populations, but when these differences are recognized, cultural pluralism can be accommodated. (MSE)

The encyclopedia is designed as a reference work on the history, structure, and use of English. The first section outlines five phases in the development of the English language (origins, Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, Modern English) and then proceeds to the varieties of world English and perceptions of English and its future.…

The centrality of multilingualism as a world-wide phenomenon is examined, and six issues needing attention are identified: the variable impact of official policies concerning language; contrasting views about multilingualism; scarcity of basic research; language spread and the hegemony of English; lack of attention to languages other than English;…

The volume is one of a series of six listing language-related legislation around the world. It contains the texts of federal and provincial/territorial laws of Canada, in French when both French and English versions were available, and in English when an English version was the only one available. The laws are presented in this order: federal;…

This book analyzes the evolution of the language situation in Canada over the last 45 years, drawing heavily from census data taken between 1951 and 1996. Chapters discuss: the evolution of the English language in Canada, including the size and distribution of the English native-language population, use of English as a home language, knowledge of…

The proceedings of a Swiss conference on languages in education include: a brief preface about the conference topic; summaries in French, Albanian, German, English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; background information on the conference; statistics on the home and community languages of Swiss elementary and secondary school students; the…

Forty-five papers on linguistic theory and language research from the annual conference address these topics: aspects of discourse analysis; agreement languages; grammatical relations; syntax; phonology; grammar; contrastive linguistics; second language learning; syntax; quotations; topic management; aphasia; interpersonal communication; laughter;…

A statement of national policy on languages for Australia, submitted for government consideration in response to official concern, is presented. It begins with an introductory section on the importance of language, and then provides a rationale for national language policy formulation in Australia's varied language context. A section on policy…

The guide is designed for physicians and other medical practitioners who need to work with medical interpreters to improve communication with patients. Special attention is given to the Australian context. An introductory section discusses the need for medical interpreters and explains the guide's organization. Subsequent sections address these…

The collection of essays on language contact and language conflict includes: "Language Choices: Contact and Conflict?" (Martin Putz); "Language Ecology: Contact Without Conflict" (Peter Muhlhausler); "Towards a Dynamic View of Multilingualism" (Ulrike Jessner); "A Matter of Choice" (Florian Coulmas); The…

The 33 papers, all in French, from the 1996 conference on research in linguistics address a wide range of topics in linguistics, including: linguists as an endangered species; categorizing verb specifiers in Yoruba; socio-terminology as a framework for understanding the language of orthodontia; French-to-Arabic borrowings in the 19th and 20th…