Language Planning and Policy in Latin America, vol 1. Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay (original) (raw)

Baldauf and Kaplan's volumes on Language Planning and Policy aim to provide comprehensive, comparable, up-to-date descriptions on the language situation in polities around the globe, and the volume delivers on that promise. Like others in the series, Latin America, Vol.1, draws on previously published works in Current Issues in Language Planning and focuses on 22 key questions divided into four sections. The first set of questions considers the language profile for the country, the second outlines historical and current policy changes as they relate to language in education, media and immigration while the third covers issues in language policy and planning with an emphasis on present and historical legislation, literacy issues, and language planning agencies, both formal and informal. The questions in section four consider language maintenance and potential areas of change. The current volume, Latin America, Vol.1, consists of a series overview, a succinct summary chapter, three previously published studies on language policy and planning and two short previously unpublished updates. The case studies include Terborg, Landa and Moore's (2006) study on policy research in Mexico, King and Haboud's (2002) description of the language situation in Ecuador, and Gynan's overview of language planning and policy in Paraguay (Terborg, Landa and Moore 2006; King and Haboud 2002; Gynan 2001). The studies provide complementary overviews of three Spanish polities, showing that language planning is a 'highly political activity', Spanish has an elite status, indigenous languages are the strongest in rural areas, one indigenous language has achieved special status, and educational reform is needed to preserve, maintain and support indigenous languages. Within this broad context, each case study complements the other. Mexico is of interest due to its sheer number of indigenous languages. Although Nahuatl is used as a lingua franca for indigenous languages in Mexico, it has yet to play a prominent role in the broader Mexican society. Quichua is the dominant indigenous language in Ecuador but due to prolonged periods of language contact, Ecuador is also home to mixed language varieties, the best known is media lengua. In Paraguay, social and historical conditions have created a state of diglossia, where the majority of the non-BOOK REVIEWS 07.1