The concept of a "bilingual district" (localized area in which the main language is different from surrounding districts) has been inherent in Canada's official policy for the last ten years. However, sociopolitical changes since the passage of the Official Languages Act of 1974, especially the election of a separatist government in…

This article describes the French unilingual, also seen as a sociolinguistic ideology, in its varieties, especially since the French Revolution: an ideology based on few representations that are both inner and outer linguistic. The article also discusses the attitude of the unilingual in the collective epilinguistic field of experiment. One…

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)

Describes the problems involved in translating federal law in Canada from English to French, and proposes a short-term solution for faster and better translation and a future solution involving the drafting of laws simultaneously in the two languages. (AM)

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…

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

States the need for placing greater emphasis on writing and less on translation, particularly in a country such as Canada where two official languages require many translations and where the French language is constantly threatened by the overwhelming pressure of English. Sees translation quality as largely dependent on quality writing.…

This article examines the position of German in the European Community (EC): What role has German played since the founding of EC? How did the two current working languages, French and English, come about? What are the pros and cons of German as the third working language? Who are the advocates and opponents of the German language and why? (AB)

Focuses on the quest of contested speech forms for legitimacy as languages rather than dialects, the distinction being explored solely in a political context. Suggests that although the European Union supports the role of nation states in the legitimization of languages, the regular use of French and English has enhanced the status of these two…

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…

Discusses the history and current situation of language learning and use in the schools and the society of bilingual Belgium. (TO)

Discusses the government-approved simplification of French spelling, and describes rectifications of spelling problems frequently found in forming or using accents, verbs, hyphens, noun plurals, and other anomalies. (CB)

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)