This study adopted both indirect and direct methods to probe into Taiwanese people's attitudes towards Taigi. The indirect method involved a verbal guise experiment with four Taigi speakers--Old-H (higher competence), Old-L (lower competence), Young- H, and Young-L. Participants, including old and young, must complete a questionnaire indirectly…

The Tiv language is one of the major languages spoken in central Nigeria. The language is of the Benue-Congo subclass of the Bantu parent family. It has over four million speakers spoken in five states of Nigeria. The language like many other Nigerian languages is in dire need of language planning efforts and strategies. Some previous efforts were…

Lombard is one of the 12-15 non-recognized regional languages spoken in Italy. This article focuses on the new speakers of Lombard, i. e. people who have learned or are learning Lombard as a second language. Through an open questionnaire the author has probed into various aspects concerning these new speakers' competence and learning trajectories,…

We assess the sociolinguistic vitality of Romeyka, the only Asia Minor Greek variety, which, albeit endangered, is still spoken in the Black Sea region, Turkey (historically known as Pontus), by means of nine extralinguistic (i.e. sociological) and sociolinguistic factors, specially tailored for the situation of Romeyka. Our current vitality…

Critical language awareness (CLA) is increasingly identified as a central component of the Spanish heritage language (SHL) classroom (Leeman, 2005; Martínez, 2003; among others). As a minority language, SHL is subject to sociopolitical, cultural, and economic forces that devalue its status. It is devalued in the eyes of the public, as a legitimate…

This paper addresses the phenomenon of Language Maintenance and Language Shift through a qualitative study of Tamil language in the family domain in Singapore. The influence of Singapore's bilingual policy and the institutional support offered for maintenance of Tamil language provide the context in which the central research problem of the status…

Today's global economy and dependency on technology has led to educational reforms in Malaysia, which includes language policies; namely the Upholding the Malay Language, and Strengthening the English Language ("MBMMBI") policy. This policy underpins the project presented and discussed in this paper; on the development of a bilingual…

Using data from the work of a Language Commission set by the Faroese Government in 2005 to formulate a proposal for an official Faroese language policy and findings from my own study on language use among young Faroe Islanders, this paper questions whether the present language policy in the Faroes is an effective strategy to maintain and protect a…

The family unit and home domain have been and remain important in heritage language maintenance efforts. There are complex relationships between parental language attitudes, their application in everyday language management activities and the children's knowledge of home language vocabulary. The present large-scale study examined the family policy…

This paper discusses language planning measures in Guernsey, Channel Islands. The indigenous language is spoken fluently by only 2% of the population, and is at level 7 on Fishman's 8-point scale of endangerment. It has no official status and low social prestige, and language planning has little official support or funding. Political autonomy has…

This book examines language attitudes, focusing on individual attitudes toward majority and minority languages and bilingualism. Special emphasis is placed on research conducted on language attitudes in Wales toward the Welsh and English languages. Six chapters address the following: (1) the nature, definition, and measurement of language…