Much Australian work on immigrant languages has revealed that the family is a crucial site of language maintenance (LM). The family remains for most immigrants and their offspring the main domain for community language (CL) use. At the same time, there is no doubt that positive language, education and migration policies strengthen the maintenance…

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, terminated in 1965 and restored to federally recognized status in 1990, is exploring the limits of self-governance, economic development opportunities, and cultural revitalization initiatives. The Ponca recognize they have experienced profound cultural loss over the past three centuries, yet the definition of what it…

Economic factors that language policy makers must take into account include a recent trend toward financial globalisation. I first argue that, just as an earlier process of global integration ended in retreat, the current integrative process is not inexorable. Were it to intensify, however, it is likely that low-income countries will become more…

In the American southwest, Pueblo Indian tribes have managed to retain their languages and cultures far longer than many American Indian tribes who have suffered complete language loss as a result of historical oppression, displacement and annihilation. In more recent times, however, Pueblo Indian tribes have faced tremendous pressures to abandon…

It is hard to be a school professional these days. There seems to be an increasing number of demands, but the time, money and public support needed to bring about school improvements seem to be declining. This is especially true when considering buildings and grounds, which often get a seat at the back of the class. A number of new, affordable…

While most K-12 technology leaders appreciate that technology refresh--the periodic replacement of an organization's technology--is more complex than shopping for appliances, they do not necessarily have the tools to create a sustainable and comprehensive plan to upgrade their assets. Having a solid tech refresh plan helps ensure that teachers and…

As many linguists continue to work with and analyze First Nations/Native American languages, the consensus opinion usually direly predicts the loss of daily use for almost all of the extant Indigenous languages. Tremendous efforts are being expended for renewing, revitalizing, and restoring these languages to everyday use. The model upon which…

In this article, the author talks about the decline of fluent Alaskan Haida speakers. She features her mother's story as an example of why the Haida language is "on the brink." English language fluency as a tool for Indigenous survival is common to Native peoples, as is the desire to see languages flourish again. Alaskan Haidas…

This article examines the discourses of the Tagish website team as they formulate an Indigenous language ideology based on traditional values and contemporary responses to language endangerment that contrasts with the approaches of outside agencies. The Tagish website project makes use of digital sound files, photographs, videos, and text. In…

From April 25 through June 30, 2007, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy conducted its fifth survey of the privatization of bus, food and janitorial services among Michigan's 552 conventional public school districts. All Michigan school districts responded. In 2007, the Mackinac Center also conducted a nationwide survey of state education…

This article presents an overview of a community development service learning programme operating in the Greek Ionian Island community of Farsa Village. The philosophical approach of the Kefalonia Program is one of "threading the past with the future". It seeks to combine traditional knowledge with contemporary technologies in order to…

There have been few Australian studies of language maintenance amongst immigrant languages from the Indian subcontinent. The present study focuses on Tamil speakers in Melbourne from Sri Lanka or India, who are Hindus or Christians. Tamil is a pluricentric language that has been under the domination of English in these countries, at least amongst…

This essay investigates how various perspectives differ and converge in the span of an afternoon, thus illustrating how divergent narratives, through their very difference, enhance one's understanding of the past. The case study of the 1925 Fort Union Indian Congress points to the process of narrativizing experience and underscores how meaning is…

The use of local languages in formal education is a widely debated educational strategy in sub-Saharan Africa. National-level policies abound which permit mother-tongue instruction in primary grades, and yet successful implementation of those policies is not merely so common. The reasons for this are varied, but one powerful reason has to do with…

The 4th international conference "Nation and Language: Modern Aspects of Socio-Linguistic Development" continues an eight-year old tradition. The conference is organized by Kaunas University of Technology Panevezys Institute and aims to bring scientists and researchers together for a general scientific discussion on new trends in…