Until the last decade, the terms "English as a Second Language" and "English as a Foreign Language" were often used interchangeably in the United States. The careful distinction between the two made by the British, however, is gaining wider currency: by "English as a Foreign Language" is meant English taught as a school subject or on an adult…

Looks at the latest scientific discoveries in polyglossia as they pertain to understanding the mechanisms which allow simultaneous interpretation to take place. Considers separately the input and output switch mechanisms. Discusses the importance of anticipatory strategies to facilitate language switching in simultaneous translation.

Claims that the mother tongue function in foreign language learning over a background of two or more languages is transferable to any one of the background languages and that this transfer is predictable by a set of principles. Presents applications of the principles to multilingual settings of Nigeria and Cameroon. (SED)

Considers multilingualism among a group of ex-hunter gatherers, the Penans of Brunei. Findings suggest the language situation of the Penans is quite different from their neighbors and from other coastal-dwelling Bruneians. Explains underlying reasons of Penans' attitudes, as well as knowledge and patterns of language use among the Penans.…

Investigates whether the treatment of only one language of a multilingual fluent aphasic results in a parallel improvement of all languages, and whether the hypothesized benefits of rehabilitation last 4 years after the end of treatment. The resulting recovery pattern is non parallel, with a significant improvement of the language of treatment and…

Discusses aphasia, the language deficit resulting from damage to the language centers of the brain, in order to evaluate how research on bilingual and polyglot aphasic individuals has contributed to our knowledge of the representation of language and languages in neurologically intact humans' brains. Examines the literature on treating lateral…

Discusses Dutch in the Northern France, specifically the historical retreat of Dutch from Pas-de-Calais, historical evolution of the language situation in the Department du Nord, reactions to official language policy and language loss, characteristics of Flemish in France, alienation from other Dutch dialects by communicative isolation, linguistic…

The German model of bilingual education is described in terms of its history, syllabus, rationale, and aims and objectives. The essential features of the model are contrasted with other forms of bilingual education. (Contains 23 references.) (JL)

A framework for language planning categorizes 22 language planning goals in terms of the intersections between 3 types (status, corpus, and acquisition) and 2 approaches (policy and cultivation) of language planning. The model helps literacy developers to answer the question of which literacies to develop for what purpose. (Contains 44…

Argues for the survival of the federalist language formula in the European (Economic) Community through a modified, more restricted form so as to be more functional and open to the demands of worldwide communication. It is suggested that, despite its weaknesses, it more adequately reflects the mosaic-like cultural heritage of Europe. (eight…

Discusses two experiments: the first examining multilinguals ability to maintain native language writing quality and fluency in the presence of unattended irrelevant speech while maintaining a concurrent 6-digit memory load; the second in which bilinguals reduced fluency during writing with a six-digit load only. Results are interpreted in terms…

The linguistically mixed marriage stands at he crossroads of important factors in the future of French in North American and Catalan in Europe: reversing language shift. While Quebec and Catalonia appear strikingly similar, strong evidence indicates that demographic, linguistic, socioeconomic, and even lifestyle factors may make linguistic exogamy…

Catalogues the various diacritics that are used for spelling different languages, describing what they look like and what they are used for. Also analyzes the problems of using accented letters in a multilingual computing environment and discusses the extent to which these problems have been resolved, with particular reference to Unicode.…

Discusses the writing of literary works in languages other than English in the United States with a a particular focus on authors who write in Italian. Asks whether it is possible to talk about multiculturalism in the United States without multilingualism and whether or not texts written in languages other than English can be part of the American…

Group autonomy is often invoked as a tool to accommodate linguistic diversity and remedy potential conflicts in multilingual societies. Analyzes two different modes of group autonomy--namely territorial and personal models--and assesses their ability to adequately respond to demands of linguistic recognition. (Author/VWL)