Singapore's language policy must balance the wishes of the various ethnic groups, the political situation in the regions, and the needs of economic development. Malay, Mandarin Chinese, English, and Tamil are all recognized as official languages. Malay has special symbolic status as the national language. (RM)

Outlines history of Spanish colonial policies toward Southern Peruvian Quechua and points out those issues under debate concerning the indigenous languages. The central issue of the "Andean language debate" continues to be whether or not the Quechua have a right to exist as a separate community. (SL)

Discusses the problems of selecting a language of instruction in Nigerian schools due to the fact that Nigerian languages are rich in expression in traditional settings but generally insufficient to cope with a modern school curriculum. Eight solutions to specific educational problems are offered. (Author/DB)

Drawing on the growing literature on language revitalization initiatives and examples of one Andean initiative in particular, the essay attempts to synthesize some common language corpus and language status transformations that threatened languages undergo during the process of revitalization. Specifically, it looks at the often unexpected changes…

Analyzes the problems of multilingual societies, arguing that multilingualism will not hinder economic development and communication, provided that the requirements of the various regional sections and social strata are respected. Denounces foreign language dominance as an instrument of colonialism and advocates enrichment of local languages…

Examines the role of English worldwide and introduces paradigms: a "diffusion-of-English paradigm" and an "ecology-of-language paradigm." Discussion of the two paradigms in light of recent tendencies within the European Union, the postcommunist states, and the international arena emphasizes the alliance between language…

Presents the viewpoints of two teacher educators--one American and one Australian--on how institutional policies can address the needs of language minority students. One viewpoint stresses the need for teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) to organize and support each other. The other emphasizes the value of constructing an…

Notes that Utah is home to many native English speakers who speak second languages as well as numerous limited-English-proficient (LEP) students who receive little attention to their language needs in the public schools. The article points out that Utah may continue to give declining educational support to its increasing LEP student population.…

Discusses reasons for the current popularity of learning English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Ukraine, focusing on why English teaching and learning has failed in state-owned educational institutions and on alternative forms of ESL teaching and learning. (CK)

Attempts to determine why a highly multilingual country such as Zaire has not yet chosen an indigenous language for official use. Argues that should Zaire choose such a language, Swahili, it should become an additional language rather than a substitute for the incumbent official language, French. (47 references) (Author/CK)

Evaluates the past performance of the tradition of language planning, in view of a theoretical, conceptual, and methodological improvement of future language planning studies. Sketches the historical development of these studies, discusses ideological features present in much traditional language planning work, and raises various issues related to…

Analyzes the major linguistic and sociopolitical factors responsible for the underdevelopment of written languages based on non-Mandarin dialects. Explores language planning efforts in Taiwan to standardize a written language based upon the local dominant dialect. Argues that the social and political costs of the success of dialect writings may be…

Examines creativity in Indian English and Singapore English. Highlights the differences between linguistic creativity and literary creativity in the two varieties and suggests that language planning policy and practice in the two countries are responsible for the differences found there. Implications for language planning are explored. (27…

Discusses how British language policies in India during the 18th and 19th centuries were characterized by a controversy between Anglicists and Orientalists. A study of the controversy shows a close relationship between language policies and political power. (36 references) (Author/CK)

Chronicles Ethiopia's history of language policy, and describes the first three years of the country's initiative to provide native language instruction to all its people, focusing on the materials development process and program effectiveness. Teachers are working to develop content-area instructional materials in eight of over fifty languages.…