In this paper, I present an exploratory study on cross-linguistic interference among Quechua-Spanish bilingual children living in a language contact situation. The study focuses on convergence in the tense, aspectual and evidentiality systems of the two languages. While in Quechua past tense features are strongly linked to evidentiality in the…

This article presents partial findings of an ethnographic study in a Quechua rural community in the Peruvian Andes. It discusses the uses of hegemonic Spanish literacy practices in the school. These were characterized by emphasis on formal issues over meaning; students lives, cultural, and linguistic resources were ignored. However, there were…

The major threat to Native languages embodied in the "English Only" movement is discussed and ways that the United States historically has allowed language freedom is documented. The following points are made: (1) contrary to myth, the United States has never been a monolingual country; (2) for most of U.S. history, the dominant federal…

Current trends in American Indian bilingual education are discussed. An overview of American Indian bilingual programs is presented. The model utilized shows the range of variation in situation, programs and goals. (HP)

Early federal government policies for American indigenous people alternated between extermination and assimilation. Imposing the colonists' and immigrants' language on indigenous people was important for achieving the latter. In the 1970-90's, federally funded grants for bilingual education for indigenous schools were offered to accommodate Native…

This report discusses trends in the study of Athapaskan, concentrating on language maintenance and bilingualism. It presents both the potential richness and the actual poverty of studies of sociolinguistic aspects of the Athapaskan languages. Noted are two trends--(1) There is a greater interest among linguists in the studies of language in use:…

Several articles dealing with bilingual education and language acquisition among American Indians illustrate problems representative of this ethnic minority. The major article by W. Miller considers the Shoshoni language as an "obsolescing" language, and a bibliography of the Numic languages is included. The information exchange section reports…

Three million children being schooled in the educational system of America are expected to forego the use of their native language while in the school environs and accept English as the mode of communication. To assess the effect of mode of language instruction on the student's concept of self as well as student achievement in reading, the…

Discusses the influence of French and English on the Akwesasne Mohawk language over the last three centuries. Linguistic and sociocultural influences are shown. (NCR)

This is a highly illustrated text designed to teach vocabulary of Akwesasne Mohawk at the elementary level in a bilingual/bicultural setting. Each word is accompanied by its English equivalent. Vocabulary includes numbers 6-10, colors, animals, substances, and people in everyday life. The Mohawk spelling and pronunciation are those used by the…

This is a highly illustrated text designed to teach vocabulary of Akwesasne Mohawk at the elementary level in a bilingual/bicultural setting. Each word is accompanied by its English equivalent. Vocabulary includes numbers 1-5, common animals and substances, and every day expressions such as "hello""goodbye," and "thank…

This paper discusses bilingual education model types in South America with a special focus on the Andean region, and examines the recent language planning decisions by one Ecuadorian indigenous group to formally instruct Quichua as a second language in community schools. Specifically I argue that this type of localised planning--which promotes an…

Dr. Joshua Fishman, a world renowned sociolinguist and expert on endangered languages, postulates a continuum of eight stages of language loss for indigenous languages. The most-endangered languages are in stage 8 and only have a few elderly speakers. In stage 7 only adults beyond child-bearing age still speak the tribal language. In stage 6 there…

This study examined language maintenance through a sociology study of K'iche', a Mayan language of Guatemala, where a stable diglossic situation is eroding in the face of an increasing tide of bilingualism. Seven K'iche'-speaking communities were examined, including an analysis of socioeconomic, demographic, and political data. Quantified…

A study was undertaken to learn whether involvement of the brain's right hemisphere in auditory language processing, a phenomenon found in a previous study of Crow-English bilinguals, was language-specific. Alpha blocking response as measured by electroencephalography (EEG) was used as an indicator of brain activity. It was predicted that (1)…