Handbook of Heritage, Community, and Native American Languages in the United States: Research, Policy, and Educational Practice

"This state-of-the-art Handbook provides an overview of major issues related to acquisition, use, retention, loss, and revitalization of heritage languages spoken in the United States. Contributions on language use, programs and instruction, and policy focus on issues that are applicable to many heritage language contexts. Based on the work of noted authorities, and on current knowledge and research, the volume surveys of the field of heritage languages in the United States, drawing from a variety of perspectives. Offering a foundational standpoint for serious students of heritage and community languages as they are learned in the classroom, transmitted in families, and used in communities, this timely, comprehensive Handbook provides background on the history and current status of many languages in the linguistic mosaic of U.S. society and stresses the importance of drawing on these languages as societal, community, and individual resources, while noting their strategic importance within the context of globalization. "--