Marking the return — after a two-year hiatus — of this annual collection of essays on linguistics and language education, the 1999 volume speaks to the most pressing social issues of our time. More than thirty contributors from around the world take up longstanding debates about language diversity, language standardization, and language policy. They tackle such controversial issues as the Official English movement, bilingual education, and ideological struggles over African American Vernacular English.

James E. Alatis is dean emeritus of the School of Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University.

Ai-Hui Tan is the coordinator of the Georgetown Round Table on Languages and Linguistics.