The fate of languages has been closely linked to political power relationships throughout human history. Political shifts in the international system today continue to affect linguistic patterns, still in a state of flux following the end of the Cold War. This book considers the effects of present-day trends in global politics on the relative status of languages, and the directions in which the linguistic hierarchy might develop in the future. It appeals to researchers and students of sociolinguistics and language planning as well as of international relations.

This volume is the most complete of any published concerning the nine native languages of Quebec: Abenaki, Algonquin, Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, Micmac, Mohawk, Montagnais and Naskapi.

This volume assembles articles by some 50 authors from three continents. The subjects discussed are very varied but they all fit under the heading "Languages and Societies in Contact." Most of them illuminate some aspect of l'amA(c)nagement linguistique (language management), a term coined, defined and illustrated by Jean-Claude Corbeil. The articles are arranged under seven major headings: language policy; terminology; language industries; lexicology, lexicography and international language organisation; linguistic change and varieties; language management and the social sciences; French and national languages. This extremely wide-ranging collection also points up various socio-linguistic constellations and language management in a number of very different regions.

The fate of languages has been closely linked to political power relationships throughout human history. Political shifts in the international system today continue to affect linguistic patterns, still in a state of flux following the end of the Cold War. This book considers the effects of present-day trends in global politics on the relative status of languages, and the directions in which the linguistic hierarchy might develop in the future. It appeals to researchers and students of sociolinguistics and language planning as well as of international relations.