Presents model using elements of status, social group or speech community, and values for treating literacy as a sociolinguistic phenomenon and in support of bilingual education. Uses Navajo and medieval Jewish languages as examples. (BK)

Discusses the psychological or sociopsychological problems of two bilingual areas in Italy: The Alto Adige area and the Italian-Albanian area. The extremely important role of interlinguistic attitudes in attaining and maintaining bilingual status is explored. (92 references) (CFM)

Investigates the language situation in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Prefecture in China's Hunan province. By examining language use in certain domains of public life (public signs, radio and television broadcasting, publishing, and education) certain discrepancies between government policies for minority languages and realities of everyday use of the…

Bilingual education in the United States has been directed by various language education policies to which there are three dimensions: (1) the language or dialect the child speaks on entering school; (2) the type of language policy in the school, which may be monolingual or one of three types of bilingual policies; (3) the divisions of language…

This article examines the linguistic problems of adult migrant workers and sociolinguistic problems of their children. The introduction states provisions for migrant workers' ethnic and linguistic rights. An examination of the actual situation leads to the general statement that linguistic rights of migrant workers are passively tolerated and not…

Discusses the relationships among bilingual education, biliteracy, diglossia, and native language maintenance. Pedagogical research in Latin American indigenous languages and Navajo indicate that indigenous language literacy instruction and bilingual methods also contribute significantly to literacy development in the national language (English or…

The linguistic situation of the Mexican-American community is complex, involving multiglossia and multilingualism. Various language codes and different blendings of English and Spanish are in use within the community. Educators should decide which code they will use in their planning. Research is needed to consider the various codes and their…

Early Russian religious and educational influences on the 20 various Alaskan Native languages are described, followed by those of American origin in schools and religious groups after the American purchase in 1867, all of which show the development of diglossia and language shifts. The present dual educational system, which includes state schools…

This paper considers some aspects of the role of language in the maintenance of social and cultural identity by examining the identity potential of Indian English in the United States. A main point is that identity concepts cannot be taken at face value, but must be considered in terms of their sociocultural consequences. In the case of Indian…

The amount of English spoken by six-year-old Navaho children as they enter first grade is increasing and will probably continue to increase. Contacts outside the reservation contribute to this increase as do the almost completely monolingual (English) schools. Location of residence is also a factor. Linguistic borrowing of English words is another…

This book asserts that under the right conditions multiliteracy can be developed and provides some of the tools and strategies to enable monolingual teachers to do so. The book is based on an in-depth longitudinal study of a first grade boy studying in a traditional English/Spanish bilingual classroom. The child's early literacy development is…

Papers from an international conference on the interaction of languages and dialects in contact are presented in this volume. Papers include: "Quelques reflexions sur la variation linguistique"; "The Investigation of 'Language Continuum' and 'Diglossia': A Macrological Case Study and Theoretical Model"; "A Survey of…

This issue of The Journal of Social Issues is devoted to nine articles on the topic of bilingualism written by authorities in the fields of linguistics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and education. The authors and their topics are: (1) Dell Hymes, "Models of the Interaction between Language and Social Setting," (2) Joshua A. Fishman,…

It is the task of educational linguistics to describe and analyze language education in all aspects. With respect to the Navajo Reading Study, it is within the realm of educational linguistics to develop and make available information that will permit the Navaho people, working through their own institutions, to make informed decisions about…

Explains how bilingual education programs and monolingual institutions with remedial English as a Second Language programs share the goal of acculturation. Describes resistance and opposition to bilingual education, as well as its goals, advantages, approaches, teachers, and problems. (SB)