This is a study of the self-maintenance efforts, rationales, and accomplishments of non-English speaking immigrants on American shores. It is not a study of the assimilation of American immigrants and of the resultant formation of the supra-ethnic American nation. The two processes--de-ethnization and Americanization, opposite cultural-linguistic self-maintenance--are equally ubiquitous throughout all of American history. As a nation we have paid infinitely more attention to the Americanization process than to the self-maintenance process. This study represents an all too preliminary attempt to redress this imbalance in attention. At the present time, non-English language skills are recognized as scarce and vital commodities in the conduct of our nation's international relations. Is it possible that we have appreciable but as yet unrecognized resources of these scarce commodities? This is an attempt to explore the current extent and status of culture and language maintenance efforts. Varying approaches, topics, and levels of collaboration and cross-fertilization were encouraged. It is hoped that the report produced leaves the field of inquiry somewhat more organized than when this effort began.

The central focus of each chapter is language policy and how it accomplishes-or fails to accomplish-the task of maintaining national unity in the face of linguistic diversity. Included among the nations considered are examples of postcolonial cultures, as well as nations that have sheltered linguistic minorities within their borders throughout their history, countries fragmented into tribal groups, and those divided by a plethora of local dialects.