A survey of the status of language usage in Morocco begins with an overview of the distribution and usage of Arabic, the official language, the Berber dialects, and French, an unofficial second language. The continuing high status and widespread use of French despite arabization efforts is discussed. A matrix follows that rates these languages and…

A survey of the status of language usage in Somalia begins with an overview of the usage patterns of Somali, the official language, and three languages previously used officially: English, Italian, and Arabic. The cultural context that for many years has supported the usage of a single native language for communication and administration is also…

This report is the first in a series of four intended to study language attitudes and language maintenance among whites in the Republic of South Africa. The series is based on data provided by a large-scale survey conducted during 1973-1974. The present report deals with attitudes toward English and Afrikaans as official languages, about…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in Malta discusses the role of English in Maltese society and in the educational system. The most significant changes that have taken place since 1971 include the increasing importance given to Maltese, its greater use as a national and official language, and the new emphasis…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in Hong Kong provides a brief background of the social, economic, and linguistic situation, and covers the following topics: the role of English, English within the educational system, the teaching cadre, teaching materials, English outside the educational system, and British…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in the Central African Republic discusses the role of English and English within the educational system. While French is the official language and Sango is the national language, English is taught in all secondary schools, is used as the medium of instruction in the University…

Israel is fertile ground for research in multilingualism. Revitalization of Hebrew resulted in a tendency for ideological and instrumentally-motivated monolingualism to replace earlier multilingual patterns, even in the context of pressure for language shift by Arabic, Russian, Yiddish, and other languages, and Hebrew's competition with English in…

A survey of the status of language usage in Singapore begins with an overview of patterns of usage of Malay, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil. The function of English as a primary language along with the official language, Malay, is discussed, along with the history of the dominance of English since Singapore's role as a British colony despite…

A survey of the status of language usage in Zimbabwe begins with an overview of the use patterns of English, Shona, and Ndebele, focusing on communication between ethnic and language groups, the decline in native English speakers and increase in English usage, political issues, educational requirements for languages, illiteracy, and the media. A…

After Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji is the second largest island nation in the South-west Pacific and the hub of the region. Nearly all Fiji Islanders have either Fijian or Fiji Hindi as their first language, in roughly equal numbers, while the former colonial language, English, with very few native speakers, has retained an important role,…

A survey of the language usage patterns in Zaire begins with an overview of usage of French as the official language and Swahili, Lingala, Ciluba, and Kikongo as the four national languages used both in their respective regions and as part of the mixture of languages used for official and unofficial communication purposes. The systematic study of…

A survey of the status of language usage in South Africa begins with an overview of the distribution among the population of the official languages, Afrikaans and English, and the principle languages of the Black majority: Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Nothern Sotho (Pedi), Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, and Venda. The influence of apartheid policy on…

This is a collection of eight essays dealing with various aspects of language treatment in Egypt. The first essay attempts a tentative typology characterizing the role of the Arabic language as a unifying or divisive force within and among the countries in which it is spoken as a native language. This essay also makes some initial reflections on…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in the Gambia discusses the role of English in the community and within the educational system. The number of hours allocated weekly to the teaching of English in the primary school, junior secondary and senior secondary schools and teacher's training college are discussed, as…

Since independence, the government of Botswana has allowed only the use of English in government circles, excluding the other 26 languages represented in the country and allowing only limited use of the national language, Setswana. Since 1995, however, restrictions have been relaxed and non-government organizations are developing the use of other…