Discusses the role of screen translation in minority language broadcasting. The article is a response to a roundtable discussion on minority language broadcasting and language maintenance. (Author/VWL)

This paper examines language reproduction in the family in the context of a highly innovative project in Wales, where the Welsh language has been in decline for over a century. Although Welsh-medium schooling has played a pivotal role in slowing and even reversing language shift in recent decades, there is mounting evidence of the dangers of …

This study explores Spanish language maintenance in Southbridge, Massachusetts, a suburban town with a vibrant Puerto Rican community. The investigation focuses on the extent to which Southbridge Puerto Ricans use Spanish and English at home, and their attitudes toward Spanish language maintenance. Survey data, especially the impact of factors…

The notion of site is critical to ethnography and provides a sense of spatial stability--somewhere the researcher enters in order to research what is contained within. Using contemporary understandings of space, the author reflects on two studies to explore the (im)possibility of poststructuralist ethnography. The first study was undertaken in a…

Language shift is the process by which a speech community in a contact situation (i.e. consisting of bilingual speakers) gradually stops using one of its two languages in favor of the other. The causal factors of language shift are generally considered to be social, and researchers have focused on speakers' attitudes (both explicit and unstated)…

Intended to promote the preservation of the Hopi language, two illustrated children's books present traditional Hopi tales in bilingual format. Based on a story told by Herschel Talashoema, "Coyote & Little Turtle" tells how Little Turtle tricked Coyote into carrying him from the hot sand that burned his feet to Little Turtle's home in a spring.…

This preliminary report presents the results of a 1995 Linguistic Society of America survey on endangered languages. The Endangered Languages Survey was prepared in consultation with other linguistic organizations such as the German Linguistic Group, Endangered Languages Clearing House, and the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of…

There was a time in the Americas when many different languages were spoken by the diverse native peoples. This situation changed rapidly as waves of Europeans arrived, containing and controlling the native peoples, often forcing them to forfeit language and culture. Today remnants of some Native American tribes are striving to find ways to…

Three areas of concern relative to Tongan Americans' acculturation to the United States are the focus of this paper. First, Tongan Americans believe that a high school education is sufficient. Although Tongan families come to the United States in the name of education, once they are here their objectives change. Seeing that high school graduates…

The aim of the paper is to ascertain the size and cultural vitality of the Sephardic component of the 50 Sephardic congregations and communities in the United States. Particular attention is focused on the extent to which Judeo-Spanish, the language of the Sephardim, continues to play a role within the group. The history of Sephardic expulsion and…

A sociolinguistic approach and ethnographic information are essential to the development of successful French native language instruction in Alberta and other francophone minority settings in Canada. Teachers should develop an appreciation of the local French and the sociocultural context to enhance students' motivation to learn and maintain their…

Discusses the factors affecting the relationship between a program of publishing in Gaelic and the readership the program serves. These factors include the push for bilingual education at the primary school level, the emphasis on local and folk culture, and the economics of publishing for a comparatively small readership. (SED)

This book deals with the language of 14 non-Russian republics, examining how their speakers struggle to maintain those languages as an integral part of their cultures. There are 19 chapters in five parts. After (1) "On Language," part 1, "The Western Borderlands," includes: (2) "Ukraine: The Little Russians"; (3)…

This paper examines the influence of the Internet on the French language from a predominantly sociolinguistic perspective, noting the main areas of debate between francophone businesses, governments, and "Institutions de la Francophonie," while considering theories of language in contact and language policy. It analyzes a number of…

This paper describes the potential of linguistic rights concepts, particularly those within the Act on Linguistic Policy, focusing on the normalization of Catalan in Spain. It suggests ways in which the law can be useful in increasing the use of Catalan. After an introduction, the paper presents the legal framework within which the linguistic…