In Scandinavia, plurilingualism has been embraced as an important goal in language curricula. However, research shows that teachers struggle to understand what plurilingualism is and how it can be implemented. To address this lack of clarity, we analysed the curricula for the three main language subjects of schooling in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden…

Dominant notions of what constitutes a "language" and what a "dialect" within a continuum are entirely based on sociopolitical factors (i.e. the "languages by 'Ausbau'" of Kloss), totally disregarding structural and communicative aspects. This paper argues that such stance is no longer tenable in view of the modern…

We investigate the perceptions of international and American Chinese bilingual pre- and in-service graduate students and language teachers regarding Chinese varieties. The 25 participants were currently enrolled college students or recent graduates majoring in language education or other associated programmes at an urban university in the…

The Vanuatu government has recently implemented a policy of vernacular literacy. Children are now to receive the first three years of schooling in a vernacular language. Needless to say, in a country with less than 300,000 people [Vanuatu National Statistics Office 2016 Accessed January 4, 2016. http://vnso.gov.vu/] and more than 100 indigenous…

This paper investigates how the presence of a minority language closely related to the majority language is received and treated on the World Wide Web. Specifically, it deals with the acceptability and treatment of texts written in Slovak in the .cz domain, which belongs to the Czech Republic, more than a decade after the split of Czechoslovakia.…

This study investigated degrees of mutual intelligibility among 3 structurally related languages in South Africa: Sepedi, Sesotho, and Setswana. To compare reading proficiency of mother-tongue speakers who enrolled for freshman courses at the University of Limpopo, 4 reading experimental conditions, in the 3 languages and 1 in a harmonized text,…

The status of bilingualism in Cameroon is unusual in that both French and English are foreign languages. Although French seems to be predominant, the official intent is to establish bilingual primary schools to create completely bilingual individuals. This approach is costly, difficult, and perhaps unnecessary. (CHK)

The paper draws attention to communication in multilingual states which may be said to exist at three levels: sub-state, state, and inter-state level. Communication at the sub-state level may involve an "in-group" language or a regional one, and hence a multilingual model is required at this level. At the state level, on the other hand,…

A discussion of the issue of unilinguism and linguistic pluralism on the international scene. The need for international communication where English is the dominant force and efforts to preserve cultural equality are seen as compelling reasons for promotion of an international language such as Esperanto. (AMH)

A discussion of the need to promote mutual comprehension among speakers of Romance languages describes one university program in France and looks at the possibility of extending multilanguage instruction to secondary education. The potential, and problems, of trying to teach students listening comprehension in several related languages are…

The majority of the languages spoken in Papua New Guinea are highly diverse, belong to many unrelated groups, and are spoken by small language communities. This situation has resulted in widespread multilingualism and the emergence of "lingue franche," including the police-type, such as Hiri Motu. Hiri Motu, adopted as a symbol by the…

The present volume deals specifically with language contact, dialect contact, and standardization. The scope of the documentation is defined by the policy that the research was to be done exclusively from primary sources. Five hundred ten titles, selected from 71 monographs, journals, and periodicals published in China and parts of Southeast Asia…

The purpose of this paper is to present a general overview of the linguistic setting of Arabic. Three main areas are covered. The first of these, diglossia, is defined in general terms and then examined more closely in relation to its historical development in Arabic-speaking countries (i.e., as resulting from geographic, socioeconomic, and…

A study of Greek speakers' ability to understand and produce two varieities of codes--Katharevousa (K) and Demotic (D)--is reported. The investigation was undertaken to provide evidence supporting or refuting the Greek government's decision to legislate Demotic as the official language of the country. A sample of 545 informants were tested with a…

Strategies are developed for understanding how language variation limits communication. Methods of measuring communication are discussed, including an intelligibility measure used in the Solomon Islands. The analysis of data gathered using communication measurement is discussed. The result of the analysis is a determination of the number of…