Advocates more scholarly attention to language planning processes in Israel. (PM)

Investigates the following as possibly related to the longevity of slang items in Hebrew: the language of origin, the category of content, structural characteristics and the background characteristics of the users. (PM)

The two parts of this article are a survey of educational interest groups in Washington and a description of the operation of the liaison office that was created in 1980 by the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL). The general part of the discussion focuses on: (1) characteristics of interest group behavior; (2) perversities of education…

Considered the plight of minority languages and programs designed to maintain their availability. (RK)

Discusses the changing status of Quebec French, as witnessed by laws governing its use and official nature, its actual usage as a communication tool, and attitudes of Anglophones and Francophones toward it. (AM)

Outlines the current language situation in Singapore in relation to demographic and political changes. Reasons are given for the preeminence of English and the push for Mandarin Chinese as the official language. The role of Premier Lee Kwan Yew and the media in propounding the Republic language policy is discussed. (Author/PJM)

A selected international bibliography of bibliographies on bilingualism/biculturalism in education. (SJL)

This case study of non-Jewish support of Yiddishism in Estonia examines the arguments Paul Ariste--a famous Estonian linguist who learned Yiddish as a young man--used in a Yiddish-language speech in the general context of Yiddishist ideology. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that a policy of multilingualism must aim for maintenance of a functional network of languages from which the maintenance of individual languages evolves. It must recognize limitations and special interests orientation of the government as the prime agent of language policy and allow agency to communities and individuals to shape policy…

The ongoing debate over the reform of French orthography is reviewed. Historical sources of complexity in the French language, current trends in linguistics, and possible directions for the reform effort are examined. (MSE)

Examines the following issues as they relate to a model of language planning: (1) types of decisions (policy or implemental, higher- or lower-level, rational or arbitrary); (2) the planning mechanism; (3) the role of fact finding (prepolicy, preimplementation, and intraimplementation); (4) levels of planning; and (5) the nature of status versus…

Two models of language contact, one concerning linguistic development and the other a general model of language contact, are suggested as a result of a recent study of written languages in India. (Author/MSE)

Investigates the relationship between traditional and simplified characters of Chinese to determine the systematic ways in which traditional forms are simplified. The one thousand most frequently used characters and their simplified forms, if any, are listed in order of frequency of use. (DJD)

Language maintenance remains either passive, with no overt efforts at preservation or active with language planning. Models for language maintenance are reviewed along with language reinforcement efforts. An annotated bibliography is included. (Contains 43 references.) (LB)

Critically examines existing government and constitutional provisions that amount to a national language policy in Nigeria. An alternative policy in which the three indigenous Nigerian languages in the present policy are replaced with a neutral one is proposed. (21 references) (GLR)