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…

This digest draws on a set of linguistic autobiographies written by Asian-American college students in classes at the University of California at Berkeley over the last several years, and examines the pattern of language shift that takes place in the young first- and second-generation student and why this shift takes place. It also looks at the…

An examination of language retention among the Mexican Americans and the factors involved in their language maintenance despite pressure from a dominant American society strongly supporting the use of the English Language. (JM)

Recent criticism of ethnolinguistic vitality and the Subjective Vitality Questionnaire developed to assess vitality perceptions is discussed and refuted. The concept of ethnolinguistic vitality emerged as an application of social psychology to ethnic intergroup relations and is proposed as a construct for various ethnic, social, and language…

Discusses the sociolinguistics of literacy with reference to three examples: the history of Jewish education and attitudes toward literacy, the Rock Point Community School bilingual program, and the Pacific Northwest Indian Reading Program. (EKN)

Describes the development since 1939 and the success of Ysgolion Cymraeg, bilingual schools in the anglicized areas of Wales which seek to revive and maintain the Welsh language by using it as the chief language of instruction up to age 7. (SJL)

Group bilingualism is typically the result of contact and assimilation between ethnic groups. The language shift is influenced by the origin of the contact, the degree of enclosure, and the control exerted by dominant groups. Bilingual education may have the goal of language maintenance or induced language shift. (Author/SJL)

Discusses the history of the Spanish language in America and notes the influence of Caribbean languages, Nahuatl, and English on Spanish. Describes the archaisms in lexicon, phonology, and grammar of the Spanish of New Mexico and Colorado. Discusses Spanish language maintenance in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the United States. (SB)

Two bilingual education systems in Canada are discussed in this consideration of what types of educational programs are likely to be most effective in developing a high level of functional bilingualism in majority language anglophone children on the one hand and minority language francophone children on the other. (JMF)

Describes the birth of a French immersion program in a Newfoundland primary school, attended by French-speaking, English-speaking, monolingual, and bilingual students. It is designed especially for the French-speaking minority in danger of losing its native language and culture to assimilation processes. (AM)

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…

Examines cooperative learning in relation to goals for second language (L2) development, first language (L1) maintenance, and content learning. Investigates how Chinese immigrant students perceive these goals and how they use the L1 and L2 to acquire content knowledge during cooperative learning activities. (Author/VWL)

Notes that the Maori Language Commission of New Zealand promoted 1995 as a year to celebrate that language. Points out that the Commission endeavored to encourage the Maori people to use their language; to celebrate the historical status of the language; and to generate goodwill toward the language among the general populace. (seven references)…

Linda Tuhiwai Te Rina Smith--Maori researcher, educator, and activist--discusses key moments in the journey toward decolonization of Maori education, the impact of her book about decolonizing research methodologies, the concept of postcolonialism, challenges to the sustainability of social and educational change, disrupting the power relation…

Examines the language planning situation in South Africa, where language has been instrumental in the country's transition from colonialism to apartheid to democracy. Addresses, diachronically and synchronically, the issues of language spread and use, language policy and planning, and language maintenance and shift. (Author/VWL)