This section consists of reprints on the following topics: (1) the misuse of "en"; (2) anglicisms; (3) widespread use of vulgar language; (4) an interview with Emilio Criado on Spanish language variation; (5) use of the feminine in professional titles; and (6) Spanish, the national language of Latin American countries. (AMH)

The Canadian Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism raises questions about a social situation which involves claims to special status, principally in school curricula, for a number of languages spoken by Canadian subpopulations. This paper examines the specific circumstances and expression of these claims to the Commission. (Author)

Focuses on the quest of contested speech forms for legitimacy as languages rather than dialects, the distinction being explored solely in a political context. Suggests that although the European Union supports the role of nation states in the legitimization of languages, the regular use of French and English has enhanced the status of these two…

This article presents the author's response to Alastair Pennycook and Azirah Hashim. In this article, the author contends that learning a foreign language should not lock learners in an imagined homogeneous target culture, despite the efforts of textbooks to reinforce stereotypes and some learners' desire to identify with an essentialised Other.…

Tracing the effects of the "laissez-faire" postcolonial politics of language in the United States, which in fact enabled English to become the dominant language through cultural rather than institutional means, the essay then suggests how the linguistic memory that emerges from decolonization and nation building continues, often in…

The National Language Policy is a response to efforts to make English the "official" language of the United States. In 1981, Senator S.I. Hayakawa sponsored a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States, and ever since then, variations on his proposal have been before Congress. This position paper…

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)

This response to an article on the effect of recent developments (particularly globalization and advances in technology) on the production and perception of language discusses the role of English as a global language and issues surrounding translation. Suggests that stereotyping resulting from non-nuanced and unsubtle transfer of information might…

Responds to comments by six authors on a previous article written by the author on the effect of recent developments (particularly globalization and advances in technology) on the production and perception of language. (Author/VWL)

Explores the constraints imposed by certain common discourses on the development and implementation of language policy in South Africa. Analyzes a debate in the 1870s concerning the future language of South Africa, examines a series of popular articles from a daily newspaper to reveal traps of popular discourses, and scans official policy…

Former Senator S.I. Hayakawa discusses his constitutional amendment that would establish English as the official national language of the United States. He discusses his concerns over bilingual education, stressing a belief that it should be chosen freely by local school authorities and that bilingual programs must be transitional, transfering…

Catalan, although a minority language within Spain, enjoys great prestige within Catalonia. This article attempts to explain how conflicts in Europe, national and Catalan election politics, educational policies, and the "cold war" waged against the Catalan government together affected a change in public opinion toward a reluctance to…

A case of corpus cultivation language planning is reported: the 1990 Luso-Brazilian Orthographic Accord for the seven Portuguese-speaking countries discussed here, signed by representatives of all seven countries that have Portuguese as their official language. Socio-historical background is provided about Portuguese standardization and spread,…

A speech by the president of Senegal on the need for instruction in Parisian French in his country is used as the point of departure for a discussion of such standardization. The proposal for standardization is found idealistic, and the utility of the language taught is judged more important. (MSE)