Volapuek, an artificial language that preceded Esperanto and was the center of a short-lived movement, is undergoing an attempted revival spearheaded by Esperantists. Volapuek is recognized as the first successful international language in the history of planned languages. (Author/MSE)

Studies language contact and language shift among different generations of Japanese immigrants in Brazil. The social factors involved in the abandonment of the ethnic (Japanese) code is considered. Results indicate that, typically, ethnic identity switch is accompanied by mother tongue replacement with Portuguese by the third generation.…

Since 1974, Paiute, Wasco, and Warm Springs leaders have invested over $850,000 to purchase more than 2,000 artifacts and 2,500 archival photographs and documents for a museum. Addresses the relevance of preserving cultural artifacts, the importance of finding young apprentices to carry on crafts, and the significance of preserving native…

The speech behavior of the German speech community in Canberra, Australia is analyzed. Focus is on the use of German and/or English in different situations from the perspective of the sociology of the language. (Author/LB)

Underscores the importance of preserving the Navaho language. Discusses eight stages of linguistic strength and security. Recommends that parents speak Navaho to their children and that English be excluded from particular social interactions, such as social introductions, to create a linguistic bond among Navaho people and maintain cultural…

A model of language vitality is proposed that is a function of preferences for language choice, percentage of language-minority speakers, and the expectations-based adjustment to the observed change in language vitality. It shows that long-term survival with low demolinguistic figures is possible and suggests policy guidelines for reversing…

Describes the situation of minority languages and Chinese dialects, discusses and analyzes language planning and language reform of spoken Chinese, summarizes language achievements made through China's educational system, and discusses the problems that remain for spoken language reform in China. (25 references) (Author/CB)

Discusses the Hawaiian-language-revitalization effort, which is the most developed of any indigenous-language revitalization in the United States. During the last 15 years, Hawaiian-language revitalization has centered around establishing indigenous-medium/immersion education and implementing the official status of the language of Hawaii.…

Brule and Isleno dialects of Spanish came to Louisiana from the Canary Islands simultaneously in the 18th century but have remained relatively isolated from each other and face extinction. Although they show common evidence of their origin, each has distinctive lexical, phonological, and syntactic features, some from contact with Acadian French or…

Discusses efforts at language revival and maintenance of American Indian languages. Describes models used in New Zealand to maintain the Maori language and in Hawaii to preserve the Hawaiian language. Suggests that language and cultural revival efforts are generally healthy for America. (Author/VWL)

Discusses to what extent the broadcast media in the Breton language has acted as a vital link to language maintenance in Brittany. Highlights the background context of the Breton language, reasons for its decline, and what the broadcast media can do to help reverse language shift. (Author/VWL)

Examines whether a broadcast media can effect some degree of language shift in areas where the a language is the target language of revitalization efforts or can consolidate language maintenance in areas where the broadcast language is the language of the speech community. (Author/VWL)

Immigrants arriving in a new country typically have varying ideas about the relative status of their native language and the language of the receiving society, and some have strategies for dealing with maintenance and shift. In all cases there are differences between the immigrants' language experiences in the two countries. This paper reports on…

This qualitative study, framed by a language socialisation perspective, explores parental language attitudes of families living in Paraguay, where Spanish and the indigenous language of Guarani coexist in what many sociolinguistics have labelled a diglossic society. During home visits, 27 parents or primary caregivers participated in individual…

This article contains the address given by His Excellency John Ralston Saul in St. Petersburg, Russia, September 29, 2003, when he was presented with an Honorary Degree during a state visit. In this address, Saul discusses the need to embrace complexity, the strength that is gained from diversity, and the need to respect and protect minority…