This paper provides an introduction to the Mexican-American culture, describing (1) cultural diversity and linguistic policies in the United States; (2) cultural and linguistic studies that have examined the backgrounds of Mexican-American individuals; (3) the characteristics of this population; (4) issues on discrimination and human relations;…

A discussion of new language policy in South Africa, creating 11 official languages and terminating the privileged status of English as sole or co-official language, looks at a number of issues in language policy creation. The framework for this analysis is that language may be viewed from four perspectives: as a problem, a right, a resource, or a…

An analysis of the status of Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP) looks at its origins and evolution in Nigerian history, its location in the Nigerian language situation, and its current sociolinguistic status. It is concluded that ANP possesses linguistic structures that have stabilized enough to give the speaker an impression of good and bad grammar.…

The bibliography contains over 1,000 citations of books, ERIC documents, government documents, journals, magazine articles, newspaper articles, unpublished works, and videotape recordings on the debate over establishment of English as the single official language of the United States. Citations are listed alphabetically by author within each of…

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.…

This report outlines the basic characteristics of native languages in Ontario, the degree to which they are being maintained, and the aspirations of native people for their future development. The report covers only the Algonquian and Iroquoian families of languages spoken in Ontario for many generations and still spoken at present, including…

The papers focus on the desirability, feasibility, and importance of proposing and beginning to implement a language agenda for all residents of the United States. After an introductory synthesis by G. R. Tucker, the following papers are presented: (1) "Matching Appropriate Actions to Specific Linguistic Inadequacies," by R. E. Thompson;…

The status of English as learned and used by Chinese students in South Africa was investigated to provide perspective on the language policy. Language planners in South Africa require that all secondary school students be taught and tested through the medium of either English or Afrikaans, regardless of their mother tongue. The students are…

Gender is a structure of language and an attendant attribute for each noun and all of its immediate qualifiers, providing a set of categories into which the nouns of languages are divided. Through the phenomenon of concord, verbs, adjectives, and articles are made to agree with nouns in gender, person, number, and case. Gender classifies language…

This document examines and compares how policies for minority education in Great Britain and Sweden have developed over the last 25 years. The term "policy" is used here broadly and includes not only central but also regional decisions, and written documents as well as administration, interpretation, and application of policies. The…

Paper presented at the 1973 TESOL Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (HW)

The English and French languages have been in everyday use in some part of what is now Canada for almost 400 years. The constitution of Canada states that they have equal status in the Parliament and courts of Canada and in the legislature and courts of the province of Quebec. In 1969 Parliament passed the Official Languages Act, which declared…

This paper reports on the language question in the Philippines in light of the New Constitution of 1973 and the language policy of the Department of Education and Culture. The linguistic, social and legal problems involved in creating a national language based on the existing native languages are discussed. Available from 39 East 83rd St., New…

This paper examines three policy areas -- foreign language and international studies, bilingual education, and Indian education. The intention is to clarify and critically analyze the influence of educational policy on language issues. If both foreign language/international studies and bilingual education were incorporated into a larger language…

Sociolinguistic information is needed for proper implementation of bilingual education programs. The survey discussed here was designed to provide information on the sociolinguistic parameters in the bilingual community, identification of the transfer or maintenance status of Spanish, and the selection of a bilingual education program. A…