Situated at the intersection of sociolinguistic and educational planes, English as a medium-of-instruction debate has always been at the crux of the intense debates, and offers a lens for a systematic investigation of the spread of English in Turkey. As Turkey is moving toward greater integration with the European Union and promoting its…

This paper comprises a brief examination of the approach taken by the Welsh Language Board, as the principal language policy and planning body in Wales, with regard to aspects of prestige planning and the Welsh language. It describes how devolution and the recent, and first ever, national review by the Welsh Assembly Government of Welsh language…

The development of the national language of the Philippines is sketched from the initial selection of Tagalog to its standardization and propagation as national language and its renaming as Pilipino, subsequently Filipino. The intellectualization phase is examined as process and product and according to its psychological and sociological…

Gives an overview of the current socioliniguistic situation of the Sami language in Northern Scandinavia, focusing on the situation in North Norway in particular. Describes the historical development and discusses issues, problems, and practices relating to Sami language politics and planning in reaction to the use of this language in…

Discusses language intellectualization in South Africa with particular reference to the African languages. Provides an overview of the language situation in South Africa and discusses the new language policy of official multilingualism with special reference to the intellectualization of the indigenous languages of South Africa. (VWL)

Provides an overview of the language situation in Finland, an officially bilingual country in Northern Europe. Presents the language profile of Finland, gives a detailed overview of the spread of all the languages used in the country, focuses on language planning and language policy legislation, discusses the current status of languages spoken in…

Provides historical context for discussions of language planning in postcolonial societies by focusing on policies that have influenced language in three former British colonies. Suggests British colonialism, along with the emergence of America in the 20th century, is the main reason for the global role played by English today and an indispensable…

Reviews diffusion and promotion of the Spanish language from the first Spanish colonizers in the Americas to the present. Describes the situation of Spanish within Spain as a form of internal colonialization and reviews language policies. Analyzes present-day institutional efforts at maintaining language co-existence within different autonomous…

Examines the place of Portuguese in Portugal's former African Colonies. Characterizes the postcolonial position of Portuguese in Africa as a complex relationship between Portuguese as the official language and the other languages of these countries. (Author/VWL)

This monograph presents up-to-date information concerning language planning and policy in Ecuador, highlighting the country's cultural and linguistic diversity, historical context, current sociolinguistic situation and possible directions for the future. Taking into account Ecuador's particular sociopolitical conditions, it aims to provide a…

Describes the current language situation in Tunisia while maintaining a historical perspective that is helpful in understanding how language-related changes have come about, and a prospective view that may illuminate future developments. (Author/VWL)

Discusses language planning and policy in Paraguay, a country that is unique among the countries of the Americas because nearly 90% of the non-indigenous population speaks Guarani, an indigenous language. Highlights an initiative to implement universal, two-way bilingual education in Guarani and Spanish that has resulted in widespread use of…

Discusses the language situation in the Ivory coast. Examines historical and sociopolitical processes and the language policies and language-in-education practices of the country. Shows that the debate on language policy over the last two decades has failed to lead to the adoption of a language plan that takes into account the current language…

Vanuatu, a politically independent republic located in the Pacific, is one of the smallest nations but also one of the most linguistically diverse. Regarding local languages in Vanuatu, language planning has been very difficult, with the approach having been one of maximum non-involvement, although changes are now envisioned. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the language situation in Hungary, a largely monolingual country, where nearly 89% of the populations speaks Hungarian as their first language. The primary focus is on the Hungarian language as used by some 10 million people within the national borders of Hungary; less attention is paid to Hungarian as a minority language or the…