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This essay is an overview of the theoretical, methodological, pedagogical, ideological, and power-related issues of world Englishes: varieties of English used in diverse sociolinguistic contexts. The scholars in this field have critically examined theoretical and methodological frameworks of language use based on western, essentially monolingual and monocultural, frameworks of linguistic science and replaced them with frameworks that are faithful to multilingualism and language variation. This conceptual shift affords a "pluricentric" view of English, which represents diverse sociolinguistic histories, multicultural identities, multiple norms of use and acquisition, and distinct contexts of function. The implications of this shift for learning and teaching world Englishes are critically reviewed in the final sections of this essay.

A film on OhioLINK. "The world is a mosaic of visions, and each vision is encapsulated by a language." Yet every two weeks, one of the world's approximately 6,500 languages dies out. What is the significance of this loss to those who speak the language as well as for the rest of humankind? Why do some languages become global while others disappear? And how are language and identity connected? In this program, linguists David Crystal, Peter Austin, and Jørgen Rischel search for the answers to those and other pressing questions as they investigate the state-and fate-of Livonian, in Latvia; Dogon, in Mali; Mlabri, in Thailand; Changsha Hua and Naqxi, in China; Pitjantjatjara and Pintupi, in Australia; and Tutunaku, in Mexico. Portions are in other languages with English subtitles. (60 minutes)

Clark turns to philosophy to assess the relationship between naturalism and supernaturalism. In a political sense, all debates must deal with the physical world, for that is all that we know. Religious doctrines are acceptable as moral implicates, but in order to extend universality in the public realm, the language cannot be theological. The issue is essentially linguistic; by using a common language grounded in empiricism, we can better tackle the issues at hand. Clark suggests that the best mode of pacifying these views is to turn toward empiricism, which is grounded in evidence rather than faith. There is no way to "prove" faith. However, it is important to guard against the threat of "totalitarian empiricism" in which uniformity replaces consciousness. We live in a pluralistic society, and so it is to remain. Extending this thinking to the evolution-creation debate can perhaps shed light on a very plausible and practical solution.

Conservative activists throughout history have sought to censor thinkers from Karl Marx to Friedrich Nietzsche to John Dewey. Why would Charles Darwin be any different? The religious conservative movement-what Apple deems "authoritarian populism"-is a threat to both education and culture, striking a particularly resonant chord in the evolution/creation debate. Crafting a linguistic façade known as "intelligent design" has allowed conservatives to covertly enter the scientific realm. Scientists, he argues, must assemble themselves, as the authoritarian populists have, in order to uphold the very best of science. Apple does a particularly exceptional job examining the psyche of the conservative alliance and its widespread cultural impact.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for students researching bilingualism. When Massasoit hailed the Plymouth settlers in their own language, they might have taken it for a sign that English would dominate the New World. Packed with surprising etymologies and intriguing stories, this enhanced DVD traces the dynamic relationship between English and America, exploring the linguistic influence of westward expansion, cowboy culture, slave culture, and encounters with the French and Spanish languages. Key works examined include The New England Primer and Webster's The American Spelling Book. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventure of English" series.

A film on OhioLINK. Implications of such de facto linguistic hegemony in a world of high-tech haves and have-nots.

Over the last seven years, Jessie Little Doe Fermino, a member of the Mashpee tribe on Cape Cod, has been on a single-minded mission to revive the language of her ancestors, Wampanoag, the one that greeted the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock and that gave the state of Massachusetts its name. But when she applied to the National Endowment of the Humanities for a grant to create a Wampanoag dictionary, she was turned down. The apparent reasons: the Wampanoag language has not been used in about 100 years, the known descendants of the original speakers number only 2,500 and Ms. Fermino is trying to make a spoken language out of a language that until recently existed only in documents, many of them from the 17th century.

The resurgence of a language once rejected as outdated and irrelevant is reflected across the country as Latin is embraced by a new generation of students