Flanders, the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, is experiencing growing intra- and interlingual diversity. On the intralingual level, Tussentaal ("in-between-language") has emerged as a cluster of intermediate varieties between the Flemish dialects and Standard Dutch, gradually becoming "the" colloquial language. At the…

In the Czech Republic, Romani language planning has long been a controversial subject. The question informing the current research is whether the European Charter's goal of protecting, maintaining and invigorating Romani is attainable in a culture driven by standard language ideology, Czech society's aversion to multiculturalism and an…

Gaelic medium education (GME) was established in Scotland in 1985, with 24 students enrolled in that year [Bòrd na Gàidhlig. (n.d.). "Gaelic education." Retrieved May 20, 2013, from http://www.gaidhlig.org.uk/bord/en/our-work/education/index.php (Bòrd na Gàidhlig website)]. Since this time, growth within GME has been incremental, and in…

Heritage learners of minority languages can play a lynchpin role in reversing language shift (RLS) in their families; however, in order to enact this role, they must first overcome certain barriers to re-integrate the minority language into the home domain. Using a combination of conversation and narrative analysis methods, we demonstrate how both…

In this paper, the on-going process of language policy-making in Suriname is dealt with using quantitative data obtained from students as well as teachers in primary and secondary schools. The Republic of Suriname is a former Dutch colony on the Caribbean coast of South America. Suriname shelters around 20 languages. Dutch is the official language…

This paper deals with current questions in revitalizing the regional language Latgalian, one of the varieties native to Latgale, a region located in the eastern part of Latvia. It first provides an overview of domains where Latgalian is used and highlights recent changes in these. Based on linguistic landscape data as well as interviews with…

Europe as a multilingual continent hosts three main types of languages: dominant languages, autochthonous minority languages, and new minority languages. From a policy standpoint, planning for speakers of these languages and their needs become a complex matter in which many actors with different interests are involved. Of the many issues which…

The use of English as a medium of instruction (MOI) in polities across the world has drawn attention of language policy and planning scholars and researchers. Increasingly, research on MOI policy and practice focuses on how macro-level policies are translated into action by "actors" including teachers and students in the micro-context. However,…

The recent political transformation of Nepal from a constitutional monarchy to a federal democratic republic and from a Hindu polity to a secular country has brought about some crucial changes in language planning. The Interim Constitution of Nepal has not only recognized the multilingual and multicultural reality of the country but has also…

BBC ALBA is the first dedicated Gaelic-medium television channel in history. It launched in September 2008 and, in late 2010, announced that it would be carried on Freeview, in addition to Sky, Freesat, and BBC iPlayer, thereby widening access to Gaelic throughout Scotland. The channel is a BBC-licensed service that is presently operated as a…

Romani media and language planning gained importance as a consequence of the political emancipation of the Roma, which is mainly based on the idea of a European Roma nation with its own culture and language. Meanwhile the study of Romani has developed from an exotic into a more or less established scientific field. However, with respect to media…

Purist language policies in Iceland have preserved and modernized Icelandic up until the present time. However, the impact of globalization and global English has led to the perception that the language is less secure than in the past and has prompted efforts by policy makers towards greater protection of Icelandic. This monograph presents the…

The Xhariep District is the largest district municipality of the Free State Province of South Africa, covering 26% of the total land surface of this province. It comprises three local municipalities, namely Letsemeng, Kopanong and Mohokare and contains a total of 17 towns. The District is a multilingual area, with Afrikaans (37.1%) and Sotho…

Under headings such as finances, child care, cultural challenges, location, racism, teachers, and accents, 30 immigrant women speaking either Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, or Urdu told their stories of arriving in Canada without English, and the obstacles they faced in trying to acquire English. While differing in their goals for learning English,…

This monograph examines the language planning situation in Sri Lanka with particular emphasis on the planning of Sinhala as an official language of the country. It explores the historical, social, ideological and political processes, changes in language policy decisions, as well as the complexities of the language policy and planning situation in…