This report on the use of the Spanish language in the United States discusses the Spanish-speaking population, the language itself, and bilingual education in the United States. The background about the Spanish-speaking population includes the following topics: (1) "A Nations of Immigrants," (2) "The Population of the…

Discusses the problem of recruitment of Spanish-speaking Americans to the library profession from an historical perspective; offers reasons for recruiting failures; and notes the roles of the individual librarian, the library school, federal government, and library associations in solving problems. Twenty-one references are cited. (EJS)

The late fifties and early sixties were periods of great strides for blacks in America. At the same time, Hispanics, American Indians, women, the aged, and the physically and mentally handicapped came forth to meet the challenge of discrimination. This challenge will continue to face the United States. The argument that Americans need time to…

This paper states that the language called "Ebonics" is believed to be over 300 years old and that a great deal of the language was created while Black slaves were being brought from Africa to the Americas. Noting that in January of this year the Linguistic Society of America recognized Ebonics as an official language with just as much…

Describes how the ability to speak Spanish facilitated news reporting on a big city newspaper for a student with no journalism education experience. (AEA)

The mindset of children regarding the development of two languages, specifically Spanish and English in bilingual programs, is examined. It is concluded that students' attitudes and understanding of dual language development should be added to biliteracy programs. (Contains 26 references.) (LB)

The 1983 Catalonian Linguistic Normalization Law made Spanish and Catalan co-official languages in that region. The law's constitutionality was challenged and after more than a decade of litigation was upheld by Spain's Supreme Court, producing a polemic in Catalonia and, tangentially, an impact in the Basque region and Galicia. (21 references)…

In an excerpt from his autobiography, a Mexican-American expresses his strong feelings about the unfortunate realities behind affirmative action and bilingual education, based on his own experiences and observation of others'. (MSE)

Focusing on specific issues related to the media and minorities in the United States, this report presents essays on newspapers' impact on minority populations. The four articles discuss the following: (1) the occasional success of Black newspapers (Malcolm F. Mallette); (2) efforts by majority newspapers to cover Hispanic news (Reid Mac…

Communication media are among the many "systems" Latinos confront in working to improve their lives in the United States. Latino encounters with media systems have generally taken place on three levels: Anglo media, Spanish language media, and bilingual/bicultural media. The English language or Anglo media have portrayed the Latino with…

To avoid teaching only the sociocultural views and values of the dominant social class of a language group, second language teachers should include dialectal variation in the curriculum from the outset, exposing students to authentic language use and the views and values of non-dominant, ethnic minority, and other speakers. (MSE)

Describes the history and phrasing of questions related to English language proficiency on U.S. censuses since 1890 and details the changing definition of language minorities. Describes and relates the Children's English and Services Study and the 1976 Survey of Income and Education to language-related questions on the 1980 census. (SB)

An experimental program in California may offer a potential answer to the nation's acute need for bilingual teachers. In the 1960s and 1970s the number of limited- and non-English-speaking students expanded rapidly, especially among the Hispanic and Asian-Filipino populations. Students with such English-language problems are more likely to drop…

This first of two articles on cultural diversity in the library profession includes comments from presidents of three of the American Library Association (ALA) ethnic caucuses: Spanish-Speaking, Asian and Pacific American, and Chinese American. Topics discussed include mentoring, education, networking, leadership, and activities of the Library…

Describes a project that uses computer mediated communication in universities in the United States and Mexico to teach minority students effectively. BESTNET (Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network) is explained, use for distance education is discussed, computer conferencing and electronic mail are described, and problems of…