A major controversy in education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been the choice of language for initial literacy education. It is now generally accepted by academics, education leaders, and politicians that this should be a language already spoken by the learner. Research suggests that this will contribute to better, not worse skills in English at…

By some standards, Brazil would be considered linguistically homogeneous because more than 85 percent of the population speaks Portuguese, but this view does not account for the multitude of dialects and Indian languages spoken there or for the German-speaking or other bilingual groups in the country. In addition, little information is available…

Language variation, be it foreign or dialect, receives little tolerance and understanding by the general public. Thus, there are two major challenges for the decade of the 1980s in language arts instruction. The first is for teachers to become thoroughly informed about the nature of language and its role in our society. A knowledge of language…

This article shows that the language situation in Quebec cannot be characterized as a diglossic one (as defined by Ferguson) because of the links existing between Standard Canadian French and "joual." Due to political factors, Quebec is moving toward a mixed standard language. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

Considers the linguistic creativity of West German users of English and their particular variety of English, its forms and functions, processes of nativization, the borrowing process, and West Germans' attitudes toward English, and highlights the unique social, cultural and linguistic role English plays in the German context. (Author/CB)

This article, reporting a study of teacher attitudes toward the linguistic situation in their Caribbean communities, suggests that the social values attached to varieties of English in Creole Communities must be regarded as substantially different from those which obtain in more usual dialect situations. (POP)

This article wishes to initiate a sociolinguistic study of the linguistic behavior of migrant workers in France. The methodology proposed is to resemble that presently used by US sociolinguists in the study of American ethnic communities and include such basic concepts as "Linguistic Community" and "Language Loyalty." (Text is…

Analyzes a variety of French labeled "immigrant speech" by Nemser. Examines the method by which each immigrant worker learns this transitory dialect in order to define the requirements for teaching standard French to these workers. (Text is in French.) (TL)

Traces the development of English in the Commonwealth from colonial times to the present, examines the use of local varieties by English-medium African writers and discusses the conflicting roles of English. English is seen as answering the need for an official language that is also a language of wider communication. (20 references) (JL)

Suggests that Kachru' model representing English worldwide must adapt by (1) moving away from a focus on nation-states in favor of a sociolinguistic focus on English-speaking communities wherever they are found and (2) recognizing that fundamental differences across contexts for English worldwide cannot be glossed over in support of specific…

The Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs) paradigm is motivated by the desire to combat linguistic discrimination, where speakers of discriminated languages find themselves unable to use their preferred language in society at large. However, in an increasingly globalised world where speakers may feel the need or the desire to travel across state…

The introduction and spread of "Ms" as the courtesy address title for women is a cornerstone of feminist linguistic planning for English. Its introduction aimed to eradicate the discriminatory inequity in the address system that exposed women through their (non)marital relationship with men. The understanding, use and impact of the courtesy title…

Readings are presented on the topic of linguistic pluralism in the United States. A section on some speech communities in the United States introduces major American language varieties, and representative studies show the central role of language in the maintenance of community identity. The section on variation within speech communities focuses…

The Japanese system of honorification shows respect either to the subject or to the direct or indirect object of the sentence. The selection of the polite or plain styles of speech determines the level of honorifics. The increase in mass communication and public speaking has led to a search for a reasonably polite but not old-fashioned or pompous…

Traces the history of sociolinguistic studies in West Germany from the early nineteenth century with Humboldt and reports on the state and purposes of sociolinguistic studies in present-day Federal Republic of Germany. Available from Liber Laeromedel, Box 1205, S-22105 Lund, Sweden (Text is in German.) (TL)