LINGUIST List 5.712

Mon 20 Jun 1994

Books: General ling, Child lang acquisition, Lang planning

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GENERAL LING
Verhoeven, Ludo (ed.) FUNCTIONAL LITERACY. THEORETICAL ISSUES AND EDUCATIONAL
IMPLICATIONS John Benjamins 1994 viii, 493 pp GENERAL LING
 Cloth: US:1 55619 316 5/EUR:90 272 1791 2 US$85.00/Hfl. 150,--
 Paper: US:1 55619 317 3/EUR:90 272 1792 0 US$29.95/Hfl. 60,--
Deals with the very important question of how standards of literacy can be
established throughout the world, starting from the assumption that literacy is
more than being able to read and write and that it should be defined in a
functional way, incorporating personal and social needs.
The volume has 4 parts: I. The construct of functional literacy, II. Literacy
and development, III. Attaining literacy in developing countries, and IV.
Attaining literacy in industrial societies.
CHILD LANG ACQUISITION (Pidgin & Creole)
Adone, Dany THE ACQUISITION OF MAURITIAN CREOLE
John Benjamins 1994 xi,167 pp. CHILD LANG ACQUISITION,PIDGIN & CREOLE
 Cloth: US:1 55619 246 0/EUR:90 272 2474 9 US$40.00/Hfl. 75,--
This is the first major study of the development of child grammar in a Creole
context. The analysis proceeds within the GB framework of generative grammar,
and is, in fact, a test of the adequacy of the GB framework for the study of
Creole languages. The data also provide a means for evaluating Bickerton's
theory, especially his conclusion that the acquisition of radical Creoles takes
place with fewer errors than is the case for other languages, given that Creole
languages are in harmony with the 'Bioprogram'.
LANG PLANNING
Paulston, Christina Bratt LINGUISTIC MINORITIES IN MULTILINGUAL SETTINGS.
 IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE POLICIES
John Benjamins 1994 xi, 139 pp. LANG PLANNING
 Cloth: US:1 55619 347 5/EUR: 90 272 4104 X US$39.00/Hfl. 75,--
 Paper: US:1 55619 540 0/EUR: 90 272 4112 0 US$19.95/Hfl. 40,--
Paulston presents an analytical framework for explaining and predicting the
language behavior of social groups as such behavior relates to linguistic
policies for minority groups. She argues that there are a number of factors to
be considered in the understanding and establishment of language policies for
such groups.
1. the social context of language problems; 2. the linguistic consequences for
social groups in contact will vary depending on the focus of social
mobilization, i. e. ethnicity or nationalism; and 3. identifying the salient
factors which contribute to language maintenance and shift, i. e. what are the
conditions. The book is a vital help to educational policies and successful
language planning in general.