In studying language policy, it is not enough to look at central government management, but also at the influence of managers at levels ranging from the family to international organizations. Actual cases reveal that there are also non-linguistic forces such as demography, war, civil strife, and economic breakdowns which have major effects. This…

The World Bank's focus on foundational skills requires that issues of language and Language of Instruction be brought to the forefront of education policy discussions. Poor Language of Instruction policies harm learning, access, equity, cost-effectiveness, and inclusion. Yet nearly 37% of students in low- and middle-income countries are taught in…

This dissertation describes the segments and tones of Soyaltepec Mazatec, an Oto-Manguean language of southern Mexico virtually undescribed in the literature with the exception of Pike (1956). The preliminary work done by Pike and subsequent analyses by Goldsmith (1990) and Pizer (1994) are reviewed giving evidence that the system is complex and…

Presents a cross-linguistic survey showing that personal pronouns with first person "n" and second person "m" have an extensive yet restricted geographical range limited to the western Americas. Findings indicate that the "n:m" pronouns reflect a single, datable, noninitial, and nonterminal phase in the settlement of…

Information Technology and Indigenous People provides theoretical and empirical information related to the planning and execution of IT projects aimed at serving indigenous people. It explores many cultural concerns with IT implementation, including language issues and questions of cultural appropriateness, and brings together cutting-edge…

Fourteen original research papers by faculty and students of the Linguistics Department and other related departments of the University of Kansas are presented. The titles and authors are as follows: "A Kinesic Approach to Understanding Communication and Context in Japanese" (Bruch); "Correlations between the Three Level Tones and…