This article deals with the politics of classification in contemporary Sweden. It analyses the language political dispute that has developed over the language political regulation of Övdalsk, a non-standard form of Scandinavian spoken in Älvdalen in northern central Sweden. The analysis focuses on the ways in which a discursive exchange over…

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…

Offers a sociolinguistic appraisal of the representation of languages (as "languages" or "dialects") in the Indian census, with special reference to the status of Maithili. Classifying Maithili as an independent language threatens the homogeneity of the "Hindi belt"; conversely, treating it as a Hindi dialect might…

A discussion of language policy in India's educational system identifies substantive issues of both theoretical and comparative interest; presents a detailed account of the issues associated with policy-making for language in education in the Indian socio-political context; and discusses the current status of implementation of these policies, with…

A discussion of the situation of Idoma, a Nigerian language, begins with different accounts of the language's origin, referring to both local legend and cosmology. It then proceeds to a review of modern linguists' efforts, since 1927, to classify the language. A statistical overview contains information on the number of speakers of Idoma as a…

A study of North Australia's Kriol language situation identifies the language, its speakers, its functions, and the sociopolitical factors in its emergence as an autonomous language. The first chapter reviews the development of the linguistic field concerning pidgins and creoles, looking especially at the concepts developed to explain the rise and…

A directory of the 82 African languages given high priority for instruction in the United States contains a profile for each language that includes its classification and where it is spoken, the number of speakers, dialect situation, usage, orthography status, and listings of related human and institutional resources for the purpose of…

This work is a study of Arctic languages written in an interdisciplinary manner. Part of the Unesco Arctic project aimed at safeguarding the linguistic heritage of Arctic peoples, the book is the outcome of three Unesco meetings at which conceptual approaches to and practical plans for the study of Arctic cultures and languages were worked out.…