Minority Languages and Bilingualism: Case Studies in Maintenance and Shift

(Hardback)

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This book deals with the past, present, and possible future of minority languages. It begins with a number of relevant concepts in macro-sociolinguistics as a background for analyzing the problems associated with minority languages. The fundamental question posed throughout is whether these minority languages will continue to exist, caught as they are in the strong currents of national and international development. A history of the society and language is given for each area. Comparisons are made in quantitative terms, in addition to interpretations based on the spontaneous remarks of interviewees. Beyond the statistical comparisons between samples and the differences of age, gender, and social class, the attitudes of the interviewees toward their respective minority language make the reader aware of the emotional reactions to questions of ethnic and language identity. In the final chapter, language planning is discussed.

Author Bio

ROBERT C. WILLIAMSON is Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University and was a Fulbright Professor in Chile, Colombia, and El Salvador. He is the author of Marriage and Family Relations (1972) and Minority Languages and Bilingualism (1991).