This paper documents the linguistic landscape of Saint Catherine Street, a major thoroughfare in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The street is taken as a microcosm of the sociolinguistic variation observable at the various levels of analysis, ranging from the neighbourhood, the city, the province, Canada as a whole, and the globally similar environment…

An invitation to integrate macro and micro level analyses has been extended to researchers as this integration is felt to be the way forward for language policy research (Ricento, Ideology, politics and language policies: Focus on english, John Benjamins, Amsterdam, 2000). In turn, the notion of 'micro' in language policy has been specified as…

The languages spoken in Nigeria do not only play significant roles in the socio-political life of the country, but also help in no small measure to unify or integrate the country that is so much diverse in all spheres of life. In realizing these multiplicity of roles the languages play in the country, the Government instituted and enacted a policy…

This paper examines the influence of the Internet on the French language from a predominantly sociolinguistic perspective, noting the main areas of debate between francophone businesses, governments, and "Institutions de la Francophonie," while considering theories of language in contact and language policy. It analyzes a number of…

At the llth Biannual Conference on French Language the subject of language planning and the future prospects of French language development were discussed. Promoters of French language worldwide concluded that francophone Africa will play a major role in French language development from the year 2000. (TR)

It is argued that in the states of Francophone Africa, French is not always the language of the masses and that in light of sociolinguistic data, choice, or actual usage, new language policy accentuating national idioms is more viable than exclusive promotion of French. (38 references) (Author/MSE)

The effects of differing and often opposing language policies on the sociolinguistic position of the Alsatian language are discussed. An attempt is made to show how the function and scope of Alsatian have been reduced, and how borrowings from French have created a dialect with unique characteristics. It has survived despite its lack of official…

This book offers 21 papers in three parts. After (1) "Introduction" (Jacques Maurais and Michael A. Morris), Part 1, "Global Communication Challenges," includes (2) "Towards a New Global Linguistic Order?" (Jacques Maurais); (3) "The Geostrategies of Interlingualism" (Mark Fettes); (4) "Language Policy…

The English and French languages have been in everyday use in some part of what is now Canada for almost 400 years. The constitution of Canada states that they have equal status in the Parliament and courts of Canada and in the legislature and courts of the province of Quebec. In 1969 Parliament passed the Official Languages Act, which declared…

This series of discussions is based on an experiment, created by a multidisciplinary French Civilization Group in Seattle, the purpose of which was to compare the ways in which different cultures deal with certain civic issues. Four discussions were held over a period of two months. Two were concerned with day care education, one with…

This collection of papers presents a kaleidoscope of shifting identities and loyalties in Western Europe and beyond, explaining how change is manifest in a variety of linguistic and other ways. After "Introduction" (Mike Holt and Paul Gubbins), 11 papers focus on: (1) "Language, Nationalism and Globalism: Educational Consequences of…

This examination of the sociology of language in Canada focuses on the social or societal aspects of the relationship between languages and society rather than on linguistic aspects. The study is developed in seven sections: (1) an introductory discussion of language and communication systems, language acquisition, messages, and language…

Describes two major events--mass migration to New Caledonia in the 1950s and the conversion from a protectorate to a French overseas territory in 1961--that have confronted Wallis and Futuna (Central Polynesia) with the same sociolinguistic problems that have beset other Pacific islands for decades. (Author/CB)

In assessing the Canadian government's performance in 1976 in carrying out the spirit of the Official Languages Act, at least 80% of Ottawa's initiatives seem to have been successful, but many problems remain. This report surveys the progress made in varying sectors of government structure. The report is divided into two chapters. Chapter one,…

A study looks at the economic, social, cultural, and political factors involved in conflicts between New Brunswick language communities in the last two decades. The demographic, economic, cultural, and political relationships between the French and English language communities are presented and discussed in terms of political matters and principal…