From 1949 to 1957, the Chinese Communist Party's language policy took a pluralistic approach. A Chinese-monopolistic language policy was dominant, 1958-77. A pluralistic approach was again adopted from 1977 to the present. The Chinese experience illustrates how language minorities everywhere must balance maintaining their home language with…

Indigenous-language education is critical in the rural and small-town communities with mixed native and non-native populations that constitute the headwaters of many dying tongues. Emerging from interviews conducted in 2002 and 2003 on the Flathead Indian Reservation with 89 study participants holding diverse perspectives is the need for a…

This article considers instances of biliterate educational practice in contexts of indigenous language revitalization involving Quechua in the South American Andes, Guarani in Paraguay, and Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In these indigenous contexts of sociohistorical and sociolinguistic oppression, the implementation of multilingual language…

This paper discusses language planning measures in Guernsey, Channel Islands. The indigenous language is spoken fluently by only 2% of the population, and is at level 7 on Fishman's 8-point scale of endangerment. It has no official status and low social prestige, and language planning has little official support or funding. Political autonomy has…

Kuot is a language in a critical situation. Most adults of lower middle age and older are full speakers but children are not learning it. In other words, it will become extinct in a few decades if nothing is done; but it is not too late if the community decides to turn it around, and do so fast. Thus far, the community has shown little interest.…

This study describes the effect of enlightenment on attitudes of the Nigerian elite to the roles assigned to English and indigenous languages in Nigeria. From the results of a preliminary investigation into the attitudes of undergraduate students in a Nigerian University, it was presumed that enlightenment of citizens on the importance of…

According to the 2000 Census, 329 different languages, including English, are spoken in the United States today. With the increasing number of immigrant and international groups, a number of topics such as language learning, language loss and maintenance, and bilingual education have started to follow an important line of investigation in the past…

Language attrition research usually attempts to elicit all types of usage from speakers of all fluency levels in a dying language in order to abstract changing linguistic patterns from situational variation. Informants adept at hiding their vernacular and improvising in an obsolescing variety are reluctant to admit to such scrutiny. In a…

This collection of papers by the graduate students and faculty in linguistics at the University of Kansas offers summaries of works in progress dealing with general linguistics and studies in Native American languages. General linguistics papers include: "Resetting Bounding Nodes in Acquiring Spanish" (Ramiro Cebreiros); "Syntax of…

This paper examines the linguistic and legal framework in Spain and its attempts to define nationhood and a collective identity that encompasses its three major linguistic minority groups. The four major language groups of Spain are discussed with regard to official language policy and legislation. Article 3 of the 1978 Spanish constitution was…

A study investigated patterns and influences in Mexican-American children's Spanish language maintenance and shift toward English dominance or monolingualism. Subjects were 64 Mexican-descent children, ages 8-9, of varying immigration backgrounds (Mexican-born, U.S.-born of Mexican-born parents, U.S.-born of U.S.-born parents), and their families…

School District 52 (Prince Rupert, British Columbia) is committed to providing support for the renewal of Sm'algyax, the language of the Tsimshian Nation. However, the Tsimshian Nation must provide guidance and establish a positive direction for Sm'algyax language programs. This paper examines language renewal issues and options as a basis for…

This paper shows how a traditional story can be used to teach an indigenous language, and how the inclusion of writing can help students learn the language effectively. Hupa people have told Coyote stories for thousands of years. Such Hupa stories are incorporated in Hupa language instruction using the Language Proficiency Method, which involves a…

The volume is one of a series of six listing language-related legislation around the world. It contains the texts, in French, of laws of France, the French departments and overseas territories (Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, Corsica, and Martinique), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Swiss federal government, and the Swiss cantons. The laws concern…

This work is one in a series that focuses on nine languages representing the bulk of the second language learning effort in Australian education (Arabic, Modern Standard Chinese, French, German, Modern Greek, Indonesian/Malay, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish). These languages were categorized as the Languages of Wider Teaching. Key areas addressed…