This manual was written to encourage and aid Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and their affiliates to respond to the official English movement that is currently raging in the United States. It includes a copy of the 1987 "TESOL Resolution on Language Rights." Specific articles include: (1) "A Brief History…

Koine is a linguistic form that combines the features of several related dialects and eventually emerges as both an indigenous and an official language. (DD)

Presents two views on recognizing English as the official language of the U.S. Proponents say it will help immigrants advance themselves and will bind Americans together. Critics argue that the amendment does not increase English proficiency but punishes those who have not learned; it also heightens racism and xenophobia. (LHW)

Indian English is a variety of the English language used as a second language by Indian bilinguals. This paper reports on a computerized survey of the grammar of Indian English, consisting of the classification of 230 expressions "of whose standing there might be some question" by a group of linguists and teachers of English in India, in…

A discussion of language policy formation and planning in Hong Kong covers the following: language use, change, and shift (including Chinese dialects, written Chinese, Mandarin, and English); the legal system; educational developments. Reasons for the lack of language planning are noted. (Contains 111 references.) (LB)

The majority of the languages spoken in Papua New Guinea are highly diverse, belong to many unrelated groups, and are spoken by small language communities. This situation has resulted in widespread multilingualism and the emergence of "lingue franche," including the police-type, such as Hiri Motu. Hiri Motu, adopted as a symbol by the…

A Federal Government Policy in Nigeria aimed at unifying the country through the use of three major languages (Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo) has been inhibited because there are no teachers. Resistance from speakers of other languages to the enforced learning of one of the major languages also seems likely. Maintenance of English is suggested as the…

The historical struggle of African Americans, and around Black English Vernacular in particular, suggests that African Americans can be a significant force in the struggle for minority language rights. The African-American perspective on "English Only" is explored through a historical overview and a public-opinion survey of African…

This review of the literature on language uniformity investigates the controversy surrounding the issue of making English an official language in the United States and the consequences that would follow such a practice. The review looks at the basic arguments of making English the "official" language and offers an understanding of a…

A discussion of language policy formation and planning in Namibia focuses on the policy document of the liberation movement calling for constitutional rights for its local languages. It covers the language policy, evolution of the policy, the role of English and the local languages, and nation building through diversity. (Contains 58 references.)…

Two basic approaches to language treatment have been defined, the policy approach and the cultivation approach. The former deals with the selection of a national language, standardization, literacy, orthography, and the stratification of code varieties, and is a macro approach. The latter concerns correctness, efficiency, specialized functions,…

As stated in Part 1 of this discussion, Canada is a hybrid, making use of both the macro, or policy, model and the micro, or cultivation, model of language treatment. Some concrete measures are taking place in language status and corpus planning on the inter-federal-provincial level and the provincial level, particularly in Quebec. One such…

The national re-emergence of Scotland is accompanied by the desire for cultural and linguistic autonomy and identity. Issues at hand include language standardization, bilingual education, the language problems of immigrants, the role of Gaelic as compared to the continuum of linguistic varieties that go from Standard English to Scots, the adoption…

A discussion of U.S. language policy formation and planning covers the following: the literacy crisis, education of language minority populations, "official" English movement, gender neutrality, federal legislation, and emerging issues such as the status of Puerto Rico, American Indian languages, foreign language education, and the…

Examined the emergence of Runyakitara as a new language in Uganda in the 1980s. The formation of Runyakitara through the realignment of four Western Bantu varieties illustrates the potential for the use of language as a resource in ethnic competition. Discusses the construction of Runyakitara in the context of the current political situation in…