Comprising a study of the application of linguistics to literacy, the 16 papers in this book were prepared by contributors from both developing and developed nations. The papers in the first section illustrate the relevance of certain developments in theoretical and applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics to literacy teaching. Specific topics discussed include the linguistics dimension for adults learning to read, problems of literacy in diglossic communities, the making of alphabets, techniques for functional literacy in indigenous languages and the national language, discourse analysis and literacy, and literacy and language development. In the papers in the second section of the book, certain of the issues developed theoretically in the first section are exemplified in relation to the literacy situation in different areas of the world. In addition, these papers give more details about literacy policies in those areas. Specific topics discussed are the development of literacy in the Soviet Union, literacy in Ibero-America and the Caribbean, problems of literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa, illiteracy in Tunisia, aspects of literacy teaching in the People's Republic of China, adult illiteracy in the United States, and teaching reading to illiterate adults in Thailand. A final section provides an overview of the subject and a selected bibliography. (FL)