In multilingual societies such as Botswana, language use is an extremely complex matter, further compounded by the fact that the languages involved are themselves dynamic phenomena that often elude the planned outcomes of policies which try to shape and constrain them. The paper describes the functional distribution of the national language…

The concurrent trends of globalisation and "indigenisation" affecting the English language (varieties) around the world pose some interesting questions for language planning and reform issues (e.g. Phillipson, 1992; Pennycook, 1994; Crystal, 1997). With this project we examine the impact of these competing trends on "corpus…

As an official language of newly-independent East Timor, the public role of Tetun has increased markedly since 1999. Its use is, however, hampered by a shortage of agreed, well-understood, technical terminology. This paper reports on a project by the Independent Electoral Commission and the United Nations Development Programme to develop a…

This paper examines developments in language policy planning in New Zealand over the last 20 years. The paper begins with a description of the New Zealand educational context, the country's changing demographics, and the uptake for learning languages as an elective in schools. The historical and sociopolitical contexts for language planning are…

Minority languages in both industrialised and developing countries have seldom been considered as objects of serious study. The discussion recognises that linguistic minorities are not homogeneous in nature. Apart from their sociolinguistic settings, they also differ in their historical, cultural, and natural backgrounds which makes it difficult…

The acquisition, fostering and further development of literacy in bilingual situations has been widely studied but similar issues in bidialectal settings where nonstandard and standard languages coexist have not attracted sufficient attention. This is the second of a series of studies investigating the use of nonstandard languages or dialects in…

In this article, various aspects of official language policy in Quebec are seen as interacting with contested and contesting ideologies, as experienced by novice teachers in teaching English as a second or other language within the majority French school system. The context of TESL training in Quebec is described, focusing on legislative policy…

In the small border town focalized in this article, just north of the Mexican and US border stations, daily businesses, including city council meetings, retail, and public services, are conducted in Spanish. Only the schools insist upon English, this insistence backed by state proposition 200, funded primarily by Ron Unz, but passed by Arizona…

A collection of essays on European language policy, each by one or both of the authors, are: "Lessons for Europe from Language Policy in Australia"; "English Only Worldwide, or Language Ecology"; "Minority Workers or Minority Human Beings? A European Dilemma"; "Educational Language Choice--Multilingual Diversity…

Language policy and language usage trends in Nigerian education are examined, particularly as they concern the role of Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP), an inter-ethnic lingua franca. Language policy and practice for official and native languages both before and since Nigerian independence are chronicled. Results of a survey of 240 individuals in six…

A discussion of language policy and planning in developing nations with diverse student populations focuses on the role of language in education. Through review of the literature, history, and case studies, the relationship between language policy and the integration of ethnolinguistic minorities is examined. The first chapter surveys…

Activities at Edith Cowan University (Australia) in support of the maintenance of Aboriginal languages and Aboriginal English are discussed. Discussion begins with an examination of the concept of language maintenance and the reasons it merits the attention of linguists, language planners, and language teachers. Australian policy concerning…

A November 1992 conference on multilingualism and the role of language in European-American communications and trade is summarized in a series of brief essays. After a foreword from the president of the Commission of the European Communities, these articles are presented: an introduction (Jacqueline Grapin); "Towards Transatlantic Linguistic…

The present status and position of the Catalan language are assessed, and the language planning activities being carried out in Catalonia to promote it are examined. The historical development of Catalan is outlined, and the current situation in Catalonia is described, focusing on its uses among immigrants and in modern mass communications. The…

The use of Sino-Japanese in the vocabulary of the Japanese language has increased greatly since the Meiji Restoration of the mid-nineteenth century. Although there are differences in the types of Sino-Japanese writing, their meanings can be created by association through the "Kun" or meaning-based readings of the characters of which they are…