Examines results of a study of samples of babbling production of 6, 8, and 10-month-old infants from French, Arabic, and Cantonese backgrounds. Various judges were asked to identify those infants from their own linguistics community, with the intention of supporting hypothesis of an early influence on babbling of metaphonological characteristics…

Discusses the pedagogical functions of bilingual education in Africa and outlines a tentative classification of African states according to the respective situations of the linguistic communities living in them. (Author/DB)

Critical thinking is an important learning outcome for college students. A review of the literature shows that this skill is affected by a number of factors, including exposure to cultural diversity. The University of Guam (UOG) located in the western Pacific is multicultural and multilingual. Using data from focus groups, this study examined the…

This issue, primarily written in French, contains articles by researchers in the fields of linguistics and social sciences and by health care professionals. The articles include the following: "The Collective Working Out of Medical Knowledge" (Lorenza Mondada); "Involvement and Constraint in a Surgical Consultation Room"…

This book surveys situations in which language contact arises and focuses on what happens to the languages themselves: sometimes nothing, sometimes the incorporation of new words, sometimes the spread of new sounds and sentence structures across many languages and wide swathes of territory. It outlines the origins and results of contact-induced…

The composition of the Estonian population has changed considerably since the second World War. The number of immigrants to Estonia has been remarkable in the second half of the century. The population in Estonia is divided into two parts: Estonian (66%) and non-Estonians (34%). The composition of the population and the language situation in…

This book provides a novel approach to multilingual phenomena as discussed in psycholinguistic research, drawing together (second) language acquisition theory, bilingualism research, and dynamic systems theory. The focus of the book is theoretical, and the suggested model is intended to provide a framework for future research in general and…

Examines the language switching event as a revelation of the language attitudes of the communicators. Findings show that language choice decisions are often highly emotional, and attitudes toward language switching seem to cluster around national and linguistic stereotypes. (EKN)

The development of non-native varieties of English in Third World countries is discussed. The impropriety of attitudes of linguistic purism and linguistic intolerance is argued, and data is discussed to present the pragmatics of Indian English. (Author/RM)

Australia's language problems involve socioeconomic factors and communication skills as well as multilingualism. A program for solution is suggested involving inquiry into problems; policy formulation; implementation; and establishment of social and communication systems to coordinate activity concerned with migrant communication problems. (CHK)

Argues that the most fundamental aspect of language rights is the freedom of choice to use a language for a given purpose to realize one's interests. Discusses how the legitimate interests of the state and the individual, particularly the speaker of a minority language, do not always coincide. (nine references) (Author/CK)

Describes a new educational program for multilingual information officers at the Institut Universitaire de Technologie of the Toulouse University of Sciences (France). General and technical courses are given in French and foreign languages so that graduates can take positions and quickly become effective in organizations with international…

Applies constructs of language as economic and symbolic capital, transnationalism, investment, and imagined community to analysis of interviews with immigrant parents living in Vancouver, Canada. These parents promote multilingualism by maintaining their family language and enrolling their children in French immersion programs. Argues they view…

Focuses on efforts to improve standards of English among seafarers, including a top-down approach to language learning utilized by industry regulators and training establishments. Considers the effectiveness of top-down approaches to language development, drawing on ethnographic research conducted aboard vessels with multilingual crews.…

Examines how different pedagogical approaches in English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) answer questions regarding how multilingual writers should position themselves toward their vernacular community and the academic community. (Author/VWL)