In our article, we investigate the complex dynamics of linguistic understandings and mis- or non-understanding within multilingual contexts. Through the lens of sociolinguistic exploration, we navigate the multifaceted landscapes of language use, applying a multi-perspective approach and the triangulation method to explore the depths of linguistic…

The world is witnessing an unprecedented growth of the English language worldwide. Now more than at any time in linguistic history people are powerlessly assisting the expansion of one global language, English, dominating other languages even in countries, such as Congo-Brazzaville, where its presence was not long ago barely observed. There has…

On the French Guiana-Suriname border, a hybrid space, members of the same population groups engage in circular mobility but little is known about the practices of these transnational communities. We explore how traditional emic social distinctions, modern states' language ideologies and emerging discourses in the urban context shape Maroon's…

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…

Language policies in any country exist within socio-historical contexts--embedded in history and influenced by socio-political factors. In Canada, such factors were the impetus to the formation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which was grounded in an English/French partnership and recommended that Canada become an…

In this paper, I demonstrate how four self-identified multi-generational Italian Canadian youth socially construct their identities and invest in language learning while participating in a French teacher education programme in Toronto, Canada. In doing so, I draw upon critical ethnography and discourse analysis, using multiple field methods to…

Discusses the changing status of Quebec French, as witnessed by laws governing its use and official nature, its actual usage as a communication tool, and attitudes of Anglophones and Francophones toward it. (AM)

Portions of the law designed to ensure the pre-eminence of French in Quebec are presented. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

This article discusses the linguistic and sociolinguistic relationship between French and Haitian Creole, dealing specifically with: 1) linguistic similarities or differences between the two, 2) overlapping between the two languages as seen in social and stylistic variation in Creole, and 3) attitudes of Haitians towards the two languages. (Text…

Cameroon, a central African state is one of the few countries in the world where, in addition to a very rich linguistically diverse landscape (a little below 300 identified indigenous languages) there is English and French (all vestiges of colonial legacy) used as official languages. Coupled with this, there is pidgin English which plays the role…

A discussion of the history, development and present state of translation, both official and non-official, in Canada. It is shown that translation has become an omnipresent public institution and is at present a linguistic reflection of sociopolitical relations existing between the two linguistic communities. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

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)

This study concerns the problems posed by modes of interlinguistic communication, translation, and individual bilingualism, on which depend the quality of relationships between two ethnic communities belonging to a single political entity. It also addresses a frequent question about the need for translation in a bilingual country like Canada. The…

Discusses the usage of French in Gabon. As in other nations of francophone Africa, French is the language of upward social mobility in Gabon, and it offers access to the international community. However, one factor peculiar to Gabon is the virtual absence of a Gabonese national language, which promotes a greater dependency upon a mastery of the…