Language revival, language revitalization, and language reversal are argued to constitute three separate phenomena within language regenesis. A comparison of case studies from 14 countries--all involving group behavior related to the increased use of dead, dying, or neglected languages--is used to establish a clear and common terminology for these…

Attempts to analyze a situation that concerns a large fraction of the school population in France in four parts: the status of foreigners and their languages in France and the social representations surrounding them; government policy concerning foreign pupils and languages in public schools since 1970; volunteer association and mother tongue…

A solution to the employment problem in remote areas of Canada, where natives speak only indigenous dialects, is discussed as it relates to Inuktitut. Distributed Language Translation would permit remote employment with dialect data transmitted over distances and translated into the standard indigenous language and the country's official…

Offers recollections of boarding school experiences that encouraged students to think negatively about their own language. Highlights efforts at Sinte Gleska University to integrate language and culture in training Lakota linguists and teachers. Presents recommendations and warnings about Lakota language instruction in public schools. (DMM)

Language choice (LC) for literacy must consider mother tongue, language of first sight, local lingua francas, and any readily accessible world language. Common but false assumptions regarding LC are noted: multilingualism as a barrier to development, the necessity of a world language, and the permanance of language patterns. (Contains four…

A study of native English-speaking Pennsylvania Germans' attempts to learn the German that their families no longer regularly used found that learning strategies were remarkably free of reliance on English rules. Speakers relied on what they learned and sought analogies within Pennsylvania German, resorting to English only when other strategies…

A story is told of how inner-city youth organizations use dramas that young people write, cast, and direct to enable them to retain their first language or dialect while gaining standard English and preparing for job entry. The story ends with implications for the language classroom. (seven references) (Author/LB)

The relationship between U.S. national policies on literacy, available literacy programs, and individual lives is examined. A discussion of the pressures to become literate in English is followed by an analysis of language use in immigrant families and the effect of native language loss. Recommendations regarding the plurality of literacies are…

Argues that in Europe over several centuries, the relationship between democracy and language policy in multilingual countries has been complex, noting that Catalan has thrived in democratic periods where devolution has advanced, and the causes of most problems facing Catalan are nonlinguistic. The paper examines language and democracy, language…

Reviews the literature to determine the importance of immersion in language restoration or preservation. Defines immersion and its goals, and discusses effects on students' English cognitive ability. Examines the success of Indian nations in retaining/restoring Native languages and concludes that, if nothing is done, additional Native languages…

Explores divergent Quichua language ideologies among an indigenous group of the Southern Ecuadorian Andes. Analysis of interviews with indigenous highlanders reveals the presence of two conflicting Quichua language ideologies. Provides insight into language attitudes in the face of language shift and how language ideologies are critical to the…

The educational policies and levels of language maintenance found in the linguistically diverse societies of Australia and The Philippines are compared. Respondents in the study were senior secondary school students and their parents who were selected from three non-Tagalog-speaking communities in the Philippines (Cebuano, Ilocano, and Waray).…

Provides information on the educational system in the Basque Country and insight into the Basque Country and Basque language and the reverse language shift efforts made to date. Suggests that the effects of bilingualism and immersion programs are beneficial in the Basque context. (Author/VWL)

Presents indigenous language revitalization resources, primarily organizations, web sites, and recent publications that are likely to be readily available on the Internet, in bookstores and university libraries, or by interlibrary loan. Includes listings of programs and organizations; videos; Internet indexes, sites, and discussion groups; books;…

Discusses migration patterns and language maintenance in Paraguay, where the majority of the population are speakers of Guarani, an indigenous South American language. Careful examination of Paraguayan census data reveals that Spanish-Guarani bilingualism is not nearly as widespread as claimed. (Author/VWL)