This is a paper given to the UNESCOCat forum, Barcelona, on European Languages Day, 26 September 2007. David Crystal is an eminent British writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster in the field of language studies. He is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor and has published more than 100 books on related topics. (download pdf)
To deprive immigrant children of their mother tongues is to create situations of conflict between the family model and the social model, which is to scorn their identities. If their languages and cultures were respected by school systems, they would develop a better esteem of themselves and of others. By Ranka Bijeljac-Babic, Franco-Serb psycholinguist, for UNESCO Courier. (go to website)
This is a post to a listserv - an email based discussion group - called Indigenous Languages and Technology. Under the subject heading more on "2008 - International Year of Languages", Phil Cash Cash, a PhD Candidate in the Joint Program in Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Arizona, Tucson, has a plan for everyday language activists. (go to listserv archive)