This volume is the result of a colloquium on socio-political dimensions of language policy and language planning held at the 1997 American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Conference. The focus is on language planning and policy in the USA, but the issues raised will be applicable to other parts of the world as well.
Three broad issues are addressed: general aspects, case studies dealing with certain languages or ethnic groups, and language planning in practice. The first, general, part, provides a historical analysis of language planning and language policy in the US, and proceeds to deal with maintenance and loss of indigenous languages, and the constraints imposed by current policies and how these constraints can be effectively dealt with. The second part contains a number of case studies. It discusses aspects of planning policies pertaining to pidgin languages, gestural languages used by the deaf (ASL) and constraints in foreign language education; this part also raises issues relating to ethnic groups, concentrating on the position of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in the US. In the third part some practical issues are raised by looking into the role of language and culture in teaching reading, foreign language policy in higher education, Hawaiian language regenisis, and gender neutralization in American English.
The book is a tribute to Charlene Junko Sato, a sociolinguist and a language activist. She died in 1996 and will be remembered for her work not only in linguistics, but also for her dedication in advancing Hawaiian Pidgin, influencing language policy through various publications and court-room appearances.


Table of Contents:
1. List of contributors; 2. List of publications by Charlene Junko Sato; 3. Preface; 4. Acknowledgements; 5. Sociopolitical Perspectives on Language Policy, Politics, and Praxis (by Huebner, Thom); 6. Comparative Historical Analysis of U.S. Language Policy and Language Planning: Extending the Foundations (by Wiley, Terrence G.); 7. The Language of Policy: What sort of Policy Making is the Officilization of English in the United States? (by Lo Bianco, Joseph); 8. The Sociopolitical Dynamics of Indigenous Language Maintenance and Loss: A Framework for Language Policy and Planning (by Davis, Kathryn A.); 9. Culture, Discourse, and Indigenous Epistemology: Transcending Current Models in Language Planning and Policy (by Watson-Gegeo, Karen Ann); 10. Looking at Federal Education Legislation From a Language Policy/Planning Perspective (by Christian, Donna); 11. Public Perceptions of Official English/English Only: Framing the Debate in Arizona (by Combs, Mary Carol); 12. Language Policy/Planning and U.S. Colonialism: The Puerto Rican Thorn in English-Only's Side (by Zentella, Ana Celia); 13. US Language Planning and Policies for Social Dialect Speakers (by Morgan, Marcyliena H.); 14. The Politics of Sign Language: Language Planning for Deaf Americans (by Strong, Michael); 15. Language Varieties and Language Policy: The Appreciation of Pidgin (by Wong, Laiana); 16. (Mis)Educating Mexican Americans Through Language (by Bartolome, Lilia I.); 17. Language and Equality: Ideological and Structural Constraints in Foreign Language Education in the U.S. (by Ortega, Lourdes); 18. The Role of Language and Culture in Teaching Reading: Language Policy and Planning for Diverse Populations (by Rickford, Angela Eunice); 19. Foreign Language Policy and Planning in Higher Education: The Case of the State of Florida (by Roca, Ana); 20. Hawaiian Language Regenesis: Planning for Intergenerational Use of Hawaiian Beyond the School (by Warner, Sam No'eau); 21. From Developing One's Voice to Making Oneself Heard: Affecting Language Policy from the Bottom Up (by Rivera, Klaudia M.); 22. The role of Social Networks and the Strength of Weak Ties in Changing Language Policy: Gender Neutralization in American English (by Nichols, Patricia C.); 23. Index