Linguistic Planning and the Status of Official Languages in Kosova During the Years 1999-2009

The issue of linguistic planning, choice of variant for increasing in standard norm, the determination of official status of appropriate language in certain countries, has been a concern, as it was also the orientation of different linguistic studies. In this work, we will try to treat the process of linguistic planning and of the official status of languages in Kosova during 1999-2009. In this context we do not intend to exhaust of handling with this problem, but we will try to present some issues and problems in which languages in Kosova have passed through. This issue is interesting for studies in sociolinguistic field in general and particularly in Albanian language.

Language Endangerment： An Overview of the Ethnolinguistic Vitality of Some Cameroonian Languages

The nation of Cameroon practices Exoglossic Bilingualism whereby, French and English are used as official languages instituted by the constitution of Cameroon. Alongside the official languages are about 284 minority languages with unequal vitality. The official languages together with a lingua franca Pidgin English and a few indigenous languages which have gained regional recognition exert great pressure on some of the indigenous minority languages, endangering them and leaving some almost at the verge of extinction if the situation is not reversed. Endeavours at assessing the language vitality situation reveal that Ngwo and Marjkur （generally known as mankon） spoken in the North West, Nweh in the South West, and Ngomba in the West regions of Cameron face such pressure and are each relatively endangered. Various strategies worthwhile to overcome language endangerment have been considered.

Attitudes Towards the Official Recognition of Hong Kong Sign Language by Hong Kong Citizens

This paper is a pilot study that investigates the attitudes towards the official recognition of Hong Kong Sign Language(HKSL)by Hong Kong citizens.We used video-chat software(mainly WhatsApp,and Facebook Messenger,but also FaceTime)to conduct long-distance semi-structured interviews with 30 participants grouped as deaf,hearing-related(hearing people that are closely involved in the Deaf community),and hearing-unrelated(hearing people that have little contact with deaf people and the Deaf community).Results show that the majority of participants(N=22)holds a supportive attitude towards the recognition of HKSL;Five participants hold a neutral position,and three participants hold a negative attitude towards it.We discussed each type of attitude in detail.Results show that participants’attitudes are positively related to their awareness of deaf people’s need,the understanding of‘language recognition’,and personal world views.In other words,the more participants are aware,the more they foster official recognition,at least as a general trend.Results also indicate that hearing people who are not involved in the Deaf community know very little about deaf people and the Deaf community,in general.At the end of the paper,we also reflect on two issues:we argue that the standardization of HKSL plays an important role in deaf education and empowering citizenship awareness and participation.

The Internal and External Factors That Help to Push English into a Popular World Language

It is well known that English is the world language nowadays, and it is an official language in most countries. It is also currently the language most often taught as a foreign language. The reasons of the popularity lie in both internal factors and external factors. In this paper, the author will analyze the factors that help to push English into a popular world language.

The Conceptual Transformation of“National Language”and the Initial Construction of National Common Language at the End of Qing Dynasty

At the end of Qing Dynasty(1864-1911),the traditional concept of"national language"underwent a modern transformation,which began to refer to the common language of the nation-state.This conceptual change was stimulated by both Japanese thought and practice.The construction of the national common language formally started with the promulgation and implementation of the"Gui-Mao school system,"accelerated by the opening of the preparatory constitution,and began in its early practice through the enactment of the Statutes for the Establishment of Schools in the Mongolian,Tibetan and Hui Areas and the Decision of the Central Educational Conference of the Ministry of Education on the Unification of the State Language.This construction was always led by the court,jointly promoted by people from the government and the folk,and Manchu,Mongolian,and Han officials inclining the new.It not only can be regarded as one of the important contents of the New Deal and Constitutional Movement at the end of Qing Dynasty that has been neglected,but also the result of the long-term implementation of the official language by the Qing court and the increasing role of the Chinese language in the country's domestic and foreign affairs.It had an important impact on the emergence and early development of the consciousness of the modern Chinese nation.