The introduction of computational linguistics triggers a new space for communication, an electronic space for a simulated communication network, founded by the post-industrialized society. The language inaugurated by these electronic media is an electric language stripped of its signifier. The new language planning enterprise in cyberspace…

Distinguishing between language management and language policy, examines the politics of language in Benin from independence to the present. Describes the politics of language in Dahomey, the early policies of Benin, and the Republican politics of language, arising from the national constitutional convention and striving to address the needs of…

Provides a brief discussion of the historical use of language policy and language planning in the South African context and explores recent developments in South Africa with respect to language policy. Identifies and discusses possible lessons for efforts to promote linguistic diversity in multilingual settings. (Author/VWL)

This paper presents an historical overview of issues around the language of instruction and the curriculum of mother-tongue education for the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland during the half-century after the establishment of the public school in 1866. In a linguistic- and culturally-diverse society like that of Finland it has not been…

While the global ethnic revival, starting in the late 1960s, resulted in minorities' movements to maintain their ethnic identity closely connected with the revitalization of minority languages, the other ethnic identity pattern in relation to language can be identified from the perspective of a rarely discussed minority group-the Buryats. This…

From incorporation into the Russian Empire in 1828, through the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 governmental language policies and other socio/political forces influenced the Turkic population of the Republic of Azerbaijan to speak Russian. Even with changes since independence Russian use--including various kinds of code-switching and…

With the ever growing cultural and linguistic diversity at institutions of higher education, local and institutional language planning is becoming increasingly important. By examining university policies and planning processes, ESL professionals can more appropriately advocate for their students, as well as create and implement language policies…

Names function as a people's cultural heritage that links the present to the past. Hence I propose that a comprehensive study of LP for naming needs to take into account socio-political context critically. My discussion of the case of Taiwan covers two social domains affected by LP for naming. In the public domain, I examine the change in the…

This study reports on the uneasy compromise in language and education policies in the post-Soviet Republic of Moldova since its first moves toward independence in 1989. Taking an approach that posits language policies as needing to be anchored in both international norms and the idiosyncrasies of local conditions, the discussion explores the…

A key issue, which has undermined the development of community/heritage language teaching in the UK over recent decades, has been the need to define an appropriate pedagogical approach which takes account of the bilingual and bicultural background of the majority of learners studying these languages. Within the National Curriculum, community…

The attitudes and behaviours of majority language speakers have an important impact on minority languages, and it has been claimed that the long-term success of minority language initiatives may only be achievable if some degree of favourable opinion, or "tolerability", of these initiatives is secured among majority language speakers.…

In this paper we will present the main principles behind language planning in the Ikastolas (Basque medium Schools), where a plurilingual school model has been developed as a way of promoting minority languages in a globalised world. We will start by contextualising the Ikastolas' language policy, briefly tracing their history from their…

Despite the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) government's determination to implement the "mother tongue education" policy amid strong social resistance one year after the handover, English remains a prestigious language in society. The need for Putonghua (Mandarin/Standard Chinese) is also increasing following ever-expanding…

This paper starts with an overview of the sociolinguistic context and a series of policy documents concerning English language education promulgated recently in China. It moves on to an analysis of disparities in English language education policies practised in different regions, differences between urban and rural areas, between social classes…

This paper explores how teachers' beliefs and practices create spaces for the contestation and innovation of bilingual intercultural education (BIE) policy, a policy of indigenous culture and language revitalization in Peru. Based on ethnographic research, there are two central arguments developed throughout this paper. First, the author argues…