ABSTRACT
In 1898, the United States received Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico from Spain as part of the Paris Treaty. The implementation of school systems imported from the United States began almost immediately, marked by the mandate that all instruction be given in English. The results of this and subsequent language policies formulated for the nation and school in terms of native language maintenance and the spread of the English language are the principal subject of research in this study. An attempt was made to answer the question "What has been the role of nationalist movements in native language maintenance in Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico when faced with the possible spread of the English language to the public school system and other societal institutions?" A historical comparative design was used to examine similar variables in Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. Language shift and language maintenance factors including societal bilingualism, migration, industrialization, the school and other governmental use of the language, urbanization and the prestige level of the languages in contact were studied through document research, field observation and informal interviews. Documents were used from the years 1898 to 1993. The existence of nationalist movements that may have played a part in native language maintenance and language planning efforts were also looked for in these sources. The three countries were then compared to expose similarities and differences. The major findings of the study included the apparent relationship between the existence of an educated elite and native language maintenance. Language planning efforts aimed at preservation of the native or national language were found to be present only if or after the presence of an educated was on the scene. Whether English was seen as a threat to the native language or culture was also found to have some relation to the activities carried out by the intelligentsia. The results of this study led to the recognition of the importance of adequate language planning in order to assure maintenance of the native language while attempting to incorporate an additional language into a society. Recommendations for language planning efforts included planning for maintenance as well as spread, providing for adequate institutional support and dissemination of information related to policy formation and implementation.
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