This study focuses on a specific Chinese immigrant subgroup, immigrants from the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Arizona, and details the impact of different immigrant experiences and settlement patterns on parents' attitudes toward Mandarin maintenance. Data were collected through an eight-month-long ethnographic research in Arizona. The…

Brule and Isleno dialects of Spanish came to Louisiana from the Canary Islands simultaneously in the 18th century but have remained relatively isolated from each other and face extinction. Although they show common evidence of their origin, each has distinctive lexical, phonological, and syntactic features, some from contact with Acadian French or…

Describes the present state of the Basque language within the educational field in Spain and France. The article also discusses legislative issues, the number and geographical distribution of speakers of the language, the population's linguistic attitudes, and the different models of bilingual education and its results. (Author/SED)

This atlas of language vitality in China covers the majority Han (Mandarin) language and 59 officially recognized minority languages. The first section, on the Han language, gives a breakdown of its oral and written vitality overall and for eight domains (religion, schools, mass media, administration, courts, legislature, manufacturing industries,…

An analysis of the geographic distribution of native languages in Canada's provinces gives an overview of the distribution of three native speaker groups: English, French, and all other languages combined. The study gives particular emphasis to changes or trends appearing between 1971 and 1981, with 1971 data used as a baseline. A language…

Papers on the situation of linguistic minorities in Western Europe and Canada include: "Linguistic Minorities: West European and Canadian Perspectives" (Colin H. Williams); "Geographical Aspects of Minority Language Situations in Italy" (Paul White); "Defining the Gaeltacht: Dilemmas in Irish Language Planning" (Reg…

The proceedings of a colloquium examining the status of French in Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) begin with an overview of the issues concerning the role of French in this multilingual, regional, cooperative union and a brief look at the future of French in the contemporary world. Discussions of the status of French in the six…

The booklet describes efforts to preserve Australian Aboriginal languages and culture, profiles individuals who have a significant role in these efforts, contains individuals' commentaries on Aboriginal language issues, gives background information on the languages and language groups, and describes programs and organizations supporting the…

A study of the usage patterns and role of Scottish Gaelic in communities throughout Scotland is presented. Results suggest that in order to preserve and enhance the prestige of the language and its literature, the economic viability of those communities must be maintained. A link is observed between: (1) pride in the language and the distinctive…

The future of endangered languages is discussed, drawing on experiences in development of an atlas of language. Issues in the debate over language maintenance are examined, including the emotion-laden concept of ethnicity and relative youth of the concepts of human rights and linguistic geography. The fact that the atlas in question indicates only…

Of an estimated 11.2 million persons in the United States identifying themselves as being of Hispanic origin in spring 1976, 3 out of 4 were native born. As a group, they had a high degree of Spanish-language maintenance. The degree of current Spanish-language usage was much lower among those born in the United States than among those born in a…

This International atlas of language vitality offers a cartography of language functions, based on a quantitative measure of the vitality of each language. It covers the constitutional languages of India, and offers maps, graphs, and data tables illustrating the vitality ratings of 14 languages by state, domain of usage (religion, schools, mass…

Aspects of state planning for language in education in Arkansas are examined and of several models of language planning that illuminate this case are analyzed. Information was gathered on language minority populations in Arkansas from census data, reports, and public and private sources. From this, an overall picture of language planning in the…

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 broad-bases study of the ways in which Hispanics in the United States are dealing with the English language is presented. The report analyzes the latest reliable language data collected by the U.S. census, including the 1980 national census, and finds a steady shift in language usage from Spanish to English among immigrants and native-born…