This report is an attempt at revising the 1961 Fife-Nelsen report's list of priority African languages. In making decisions regarding priorities, the following kinds of data are considered most useful: statistical data on the languages involved, such as where the languages are spoken and how many people speak them; data on the cultural role of…

The Puerto Rican Forum's Basic Occupational Language Training (BOLT) program teaches English language skills to Spanish-speaking people, and Spanish language skills to English-speaking people. Special BOLT curricula emphasize high-skilled instructors, audio-visual and audio-lingual techniques, job-oriented vocabularies, and on-site instruction.…

This publication consists of papers presented at the meetings of two advisory groups convened at Unesco. Internationally-known consultants were invited to assist in developing a program dealing with the sociocultural and linguistics adaptation of the content and methodology of education. At one meeting, concerned with the contribution of…

The linguistic situation of the Mexican-American community is complex, involving multiglossia and multilingualism. Various language codes and different blendings of English and Spanish are in use within the community. Educators should decide which code they will use in their planning. Research is needed to consider the various codes and their…

The first waves of immigrants arriving in Palestine were faced with the problem of forming a new culture and creating a new language, actually, reviving Hebrew, an ancient language. The children were faced with creating their own traditions, games, and folklore; in so doing, through straight borrowing, spontaneous translation (loan translation),…

This collection aims to provide an introductory study of linguistic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe, taking into account historical development, present situation, language maintenance and shifts, as well as language and educational policies of the different countries in the area. The introduction (by Christina Bratt Paulston) discusses a…

This book aims to advance the understanding of multilingualism in society. Challenges to the myths of monolingualism in the English-speaking countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom) are commonplace. It is less well-known that the same assumptions and behaviors associated with monolingualism in the…

This collection of 24 papers focuses on language and society in South Africa. Part 1, "The Main Language Groupings," includes (1) "South Africa: A Sociolinguistic Overview" (R. Mesthrie); (2) "The Khoesan Languages" (A. Traill); (3) "The Bantu Languages: Sociohistorical Perspectives" (Robert K. Herbert and…

Discusses problems associated with the implementation of mother tongue education in Zambia. Focus is on the sociolinguistic situation, language policy after independence, sociolinguistic implications, language use in different domains, language use and ethnic identity in Zambia, Kenya, and Tanzania, prospects for mother tongue education; bilingual…

This report is the result of a two-month study commissioned by the World Fertility Survey prior to the inclusion of Cameroon in the WFS program, in order to examine the problem of linguistic diversity and the obstacles this problem might pose to a demographic survey of the country. The study was to propose a strategy which would uphold the WFS…

In India today, the traditional tolerant attitude toward linguistic and ethnic heterogeneity has given way to a drive for language autonomy. The national language policy appears susceptible to the sensitivities of different pressure groups, while the state policies have been slow to respond to the sensitivities of language minorities. Today,…

This book illustrates how children learn foreign languages and when they can do so with the best results. The most recent studies in linguistics, neurology, education, and psychology are evaluated, and the findings are presented in a recipe format. Parents are encouraged to evaluate the multilingual children in their lives with the use of tools…

Argues that critical awareness of the role of the emergent South African English is dependent upon (1) the acknowledgement of the first languages of learners to prevent loss or down-grading of first-language cultures, and (2) the development of techniques by which learners' first languages can be used more explicitly in classrooms where English is…

Discusses the relationship between the language use patterns of multilinguals and their media preferences and exposure. Suggests that the frequency of a particular language's use correlates with preferences for and exposure to television in that language. Shows this relationship to be more pronounced with specific cultural programing. (KEH)

This paper provides a sociolinguistic discussion of the language situation in Israel, based on relevant linguistic and Hebraic literature and on the author's two year visit to the area. The author discusses the background and use of the many different languages spoken in the country; the function of each language is described. Characteristics of…