Sociolinguistic research on varieties of language and language variation, along with the necessity for meeting "equivalence" in terms of the appropriateness of the variety to the context have been well recognized in the formulation of a translation theory. However, the treatment of variation has always been restricted to dialect and has not…

Ferguson's concept of diglossia and its later extension and coupling with bilingualism is developed further into the concept of polyglossia with multilingualism by a discussion of various speech communities where these phenomena are in evidence. (Author/HP)

Revision of a paper presented at the Conference Toward the Description of the Languages of the World, held in Burg Wartenstein, Austria, in August 1970. (VM)

Discusses residual bilingualism as a means of identifying the nature, quantity, and distribution of Dutch-origin elements in the speech of different users of French in Brussels. Observations on code switching in a community of monoglots, bilinguals, and immigrants help provide a frame of reference for similar complex bilingual contexts elsewhere.…

It is argued that the relationship between Kiswahili and ethnic community languages in Tanzania is not diglossic. The paper applies definitions/redefinitions to the Tanzanian sociolinguistic profile, considers Tanzanian language policy, suggests the basic tenets of diglossia do not apply, and proposes another term for the Kiswahili relationship…

Development of a typology for linguistic situations has been a continuing concern of sociolinguistic research. Thus far, however, typological studies have served primarily to demonstrate the difficulties involved in such an undertaking rather than producing results of obvious utility. With few exceptions, notably Greenberg 1956 and Pool 1972,…

Although technical and social engineering and planning have made tremendous progress, an almost prescientific attitude regarding language planning still prevails in some linguistic circles. (Language planning is defined here as the "methodical activity of regulating and improving existing languages or creating new common regional, national or…

There is a growing awareness among some Arab education specialists that the low levels of educational achievement and high illiteracy and low literacy rates in most Arab countries are directly related to the complexities of the standard Arabic language used in formal schooling and non-formal education. The complexities mostly relate to the…