The 4th international conference "Nation and Language: Modern Aspects of Socio-Linguistic Development" continues an eight-year old tradition. The conference is organized by Kaunas University of Technology Panevezys Institute and aims to bring scientists and researchers together for a general scientific discussion on new trends in…

Global English is under contestation. Although some consider lingua franca English (LFE) as a neutral medium or code that does not belong to any specific culture or nationality, others see the deceptive nature of this linguistic globalization. Along with Spring (2007/this issue), they see global English as embodying partisan interests and values.…

The problems and advantages of being bilingual are discussed, along with the personality of bilinguals and the different forms of bilingualism. It is concluded that the optimum situation is passive bilingualism, i.e. reading and understanding various languages, accompanied by active monolingualism, i.e. speaking and writing only one language.…

This article studies the problem of social identity among six different racial groups in the British Honduras, focusing on what the groups call themselves and what others call them, and on the semantic field of these terms, i.e. the socio-cultural values they represent. (Text is in French.) (AM)

Urges the introduction of more courses in multiracial and multicultural education in training institutions in the United Kingdom, rather than blaming the teachers for being racist and/or ethnocentric. In addition, a survey of teacher training institutions indicates that little is done in comparative education which would change ethnocentric…

Revision of a paper presented at the Conference Toward the Description of the Languages of the World, held in Burg Wartenstein, Austria, in August 1970. (VM)

Refutes the concept that a single and universal tongue is ideal and the rich diversity of languages is an unfortunate state of affairs, pointing out that the mastery of several languages enhances cultural understanding and experience. (eight references) (CB)

Sociopolitical change occurs in conjunction with sustaining local literacies. In hierarchically organized societies, ruling elite perceive local literacies as threat to existing power structure. The Ambedkar Nagar project in India, a literacy drive that adopted a campaign-based approach (CBA), is described. A CBA uses mass participation, voluntary…

Minority students' English learning is a special and an indispensable component of English education system in China. This article studies students' linguistic knowledge that live in Northwestern China--Gan Nan Autonomy State of Gan Su Province with majority population of Tibetan, mixed with Chinese and some Muslim. An analogous analysis is…

Romania is a country with a good number of linguistic minorities. Descriptive linguistic data include the number and kinds of languages spoken in what areas and by how many people and their attitudes toward the languages. Models and typologies of language planning are presented to discern their appropriateness. (SCC)

Intended to help teachers of English, language arts, and other subjects interpret "English Only" language issues for students, parents, and school communities, this book addresses various aspects of the controversy. Articles, listed with their authors, are as follows: (1) "The Roots of Language Protectionism" (Harvey A.…

Two parties of different native languages communicate via a third of which neither is a fluent speaker. Lingua franca talk is discussed under four aspects: entrance considerations, non-comprehension problems, speaker frustration, and increasing entropy. Devices for achieving strategies in multilingual settings are discussed. Available from…

Within the framework of modern language teaching objectives, an inventory is presented of various socio-cultural activities in which written communication plays a key role. Writing is typed according to the situation. The status of written language is assessed from the aspect of multilingualism and of diglossia. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

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…

Outlines the language planning situation in Australia, makes a case for the establishment of a national language policy, and discusses the steps that must be undertaken if a successful policy is to be achieved. (AM)