Examines the effects of language standardization and orthography design on the Chukchi linguistic ecology. Suggests the process of standardization has not taken into consideration the gender-based sociolects of colloquial Chukchi and is based on a grammatical description that does not reflect actual Chukchi use. (Author/VWL)

The development of the national language of the Philippines is sketched from the initial selection of Tagalog to its standardization and propagation as national language and its renaming as Pilipino, subsequently Filipino. The intellectualization phase is examined as process and product and according to its psychological and sociological…

Examines the role the Kadazandusun language Foundation has played in changing the language ecology of the Kadazandusun language. Relates to the impact the language situation has had on changing attitudes toward mother-tongue use in the Kadazandusun community. (Author/VWL)

A case of corpus cultivation language planning is reported: the 1990 Luso-Brazilian Orthographic Accord for the seven Portuguese-speaking countries discussed here, signed by representatives of all seven countries that have Portuguese as their official language. Socio-historical background is provided about Portuguese standardization and spread,…

Discusses publication of two recent dictionaries of Modern Greek. Suggests their respective lexical coverage reveals the continuing survival of the underlying ideologies of the two sponsoring institutions concerning the history of the Greek language and their opposing standpoints in relation to Greek diglossia. The two dictionaries proceed from…

Reviews the history and development of the Pinyin grapheme system for the transcription of Chinese, and contrasts Pinyin graphemes with those of several other systems for Chinese. It is argued that Pinyin should be accepted as the standard system for Chinese transcription. (JL)

The purpose of the symposium was to exchange experiences in the standardization of national languages in different socio-cultural contexts. Examples of the strategies and results of such experiences in Africa, Latin America, and Europe were presented for discussion. Papers presented at the symposium include the following: "Language…

Discusses the background and implications of the 1990 Luso-Brazilian Orthographic Accord signed by the seven nations that have Portuguese as their official language. Concludes that while most of the debate over the accord revolves around issues of linguistic efficiency, the accord and its proponents are primarily concerned with political and…

Sociolinguistic data are presented in the form of sophisticated maps and tables in this pioneering study on the status of the Basque language. Based on information collected from the 1986 census, the major demographic characteristics of Basque are examined in order to ascertain the factors and processes that have contributed to its current status.…

Drawing from the study of efforts to revitalize Quichua in the Southern Ecuadorian Highlands, this article describes what may be some of the common language corpus and language status transformations that threatened languages undergo during the process of language revitalization. (Author/VWL)

The Draft of the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme proposed by the Chinese Committee on Language Reform, published in 1977, is discussed. The political history of the draft and current uncertainty about character simplification are examined, and a rigorous methodology for determining the success rate of a script reform is proposed.…

The policy of Arabization is examined as an example of language planning used to pursue and maintain power. The Tunisian language situation is analyzed in terms of education, government administration, and media and general use. It is shown that promotion of Arabization is inconsistent but that bilingualism and biculturalism have been promoted.…

Argues that the language planning role of Japan's public broadcasting organization, NHK, is considerable, although neglected. The article overviews broadcasting, language policy, organization, and history and focuses on NHK's role in establishing and disseminating the standard language. NHK is perceived as an arbiter of language standards. (51…

The political reforms taking place in South Africa are reflected in new thoughts on possible future language policies for the country. The background to the present debate is traced, and some of the most important suggestions for a language policy for a postapartheid South Africa are discussed. (78 references) (VWL)

This issue of a journal designed to present works in progress by students and professors of linguistics contains the following papers: "In Praise of My Language" (Joshua A. Fishman); "How Does Social Status Affect the Sequencing Rules of Other-Introductions?" (Fred J. Chen); "The Role of Ethno-Lingual Relativity in Second…