English is often assumed to be the national language in the US and the global language in the world; yet such views fail to address the complex linguistic repertoires of people living in linguistically heterogeneous places even within the US. Spotlighting a southwestern US border town, we provide a critique of both nation-state-language ideology,…

This dissertation project examines the language contact situation of Chipilo, a Veneto-Spanish bilingual community of immigrant origin in central Mexico, focusing both on the social motivations for the sustained bilingualism observed and the linguistic outcomes in the Spanish of the community. Chipilo is a unique community in that Veneto, a…

This article contains a description of the Dual Proficiency (DP) program in an urban elementary school located in the heart of a large south-western city, as well as the teachers who designed and now implement DP, and the immigrant community participating by choice in DP. We write from a context where, ironically, the number of English language…

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…

A discussion of language policy formation and planning in Mexico focuses on its multilingual/multicultural character and covers the following: turn from national integration to ethnic revival; indigenous successes following the Declaration of Patzcuaro; some problems and solutions regarding the current bilingual/bicultural education policy.…