This volume covers the language situation in Hong Kong, Timor-Leste and Sri Lanka explaining the linguistic diversity, the historical and political contexts and the current language situation, including language-in-education planning, the role of the media, the role of religion and the roles of non-indigenous languages. Two of the authors are indigenous to the situations described while the other has undertaken extensive field work and consulting there. The three monographs contained in this volume draw together the literature on each of the polities to present an overview of the research available about each of them, while providing new research-based information. The purpose of the volume is to provide an up-to-date overview of the language situation in each polity based on a series of key questions in the hope that this might facilitate the development of a richer theory to guide language policy and planning in other polities where similar issues may arise. This book was published as special issues of Current Issues in Language Planning.

Contents

1. Language policy and planning in Hong Kong, Timor-Leste and Sri Lanka: Some common themes Robert B. Kaplan and Richard B. Baldauf Jr. 2. Language use, and language policy and planning in Hong Kong Anita Y. K. Poon 3. The language situation in Timor-Leste Kerry Taylor-Leech 4. The language planning situation in Sri Lanka Sandagomi Coperahewa

Author Bio

Robert B. Kaplan, Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Southern California, has published numerous books and refereed articles, is founding Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, member of the editorial board of the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics (2002) and editor of the Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics.

Richard B. Baldauf, Jr., Professor of TESOL, School of Education, University of Queensland, has published numerous articles in refereed journals and books, is co-author of Language Planning from Practicery (1997), Language and Language-in-Education Planning in the Pacific Basin (2003), and Planning Chinese Characters: Evolution, Revolution or Reaction (2007).