"Ouh que c'est laid!" "Oh this is ugly!" is one of the comments among the 11,800 hits on Google for the sequence "la fille que je sors avec" [the girl I go out with]. Often the comments include the idea that the whole expression has been taken from English as a direct calque. The authors of the present keynote…

Poplack, Zentz and Dion (PZD; Poplack, Zentz & Dion, 2011, this issue) examine the often unquestioned assumption that the existence of preposition stranding (PS) in Canadian French is linked to the presence of a contact situation with English in the North American context. Although this issue has been the topic of previous research from a…

In their keynote contribution, Poplack, Zentz & Dion (henceforth PZD; Poplack, Zentz & Dion, 2011, this issue) propose an interesting "scientific test of convergence" (under section heading: "Introduction") which contains criteria to check whether a particular feature in a given language in contact with another one is…

The authors of "Phrase-final prepositions in Quebec French: An empirical study of contact, code-switching and resistance to convergence", Poplack, Zentz & Dion (2011, this issue), henceforth cited as PZD, make a strong case for showing that, in spite of surface similarities, preposition stranding in Canadian French relative clauses…

This paper demonstrates that French language maintenance in Ontario does not depend only on French language schooling. Other contributing factors include francophone concentration and institutional support for French in the public and private sector. Difficulties related to French language schooling and suggestions for improving the status of…

Analyzes the issues at stake in the debate over official language legislation in the United States, focusing on the agenda of U.S. ENGLISH, an organization promoting the legislation of English as the official language of the United States. The article argues that restricting language rights can lead to social segregation and that people speak…

A theoretical framework for conceptualizing different kinds of language rights and for construing the nature of the tension between them is discussed. Differences between individual and communal language rights are examined, and the latter are suggested to have sound moral foundations. Examples are drawn from Canada. (19 references) (Author/LB)

Discusses the centuries-old dispute in Quebec about whether the French spoken there is good or bad. The issue has a stake in public discourse between socially-valued and socially-stigmatized varieties of language. (Author/VWL)

Concerns current transformation in the relationship between political and linguistic ideologies of la francophonie based on a sociolinguistic ethnographic study in a French-language minority school in Canada. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the multicultural education thrust to reduce illiteracy, as well as the linkage between language and identity. It is argued that encouraging literacy requires sensitivity to both roles of the tension between core knowledge and skills and the promotion of group values and culture. (60 references) (GLR)

Dissents with Virginia Sauve's argument that "culture is not about content, but about the making and remaking of relationships." The article argues that there is a strong knowledge basis for any culture and that stereotypes of other cultures evolve from knowledge of how people act and talk. The article concludes that Canadians must share…

This interview took place at the Language Testing Research Colloquium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (at the Chateau Laurier Hotel on July 21, 2005), at which Professor Bernard Spolsky was presented with the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate/International Language Testing Association Lifetime Achievement Award. The conference…

Social problems such as prejudice, discrimination, and societal unfairness are examined from the perspective of their association with language. Research in the psychology of language is reviewed with regard to these issues and with particular reference to the situation in Quebec. The first question addressed is the role that attitudes play both…

Compares heritage (ethnic) language programs with English as a second language programs in Canada. Differences in motivation and attitudes are cited among some ethnic groups who are eager to learn English for everyday communicative purposes, but are not interested in spending much time in heritage language classes. (SL)

Discusses the English writing difficulties experienced by native Chinese students in Canadian universities. Since they have little experience in creative or free writing, conforming to a western format of writing style is a problem which should be dealt within initially by a very basic understanding of Chinese culture and language. (SL)