[Language in Canada]

Since 1981, Cambridge University Press has published four volumes on language in various countries where English is a dominant language, Language in the USA, Language in the British Isles, Language in Australia, and, the most recent contribution and the one under review here, Language in Canada. This fourth volume, an extremely strong contribution to the series, provides insight into the linguistic diversity in Canada, brings alive the relationship between language and identity ,and puts in perspective the language debates that are so characteristic of the country. While the book was published in 1998, these debates continue; in the past short while there has been continued attention paid to French through a court judgment on bilingual signs (e.g., Toronto Star, October 21, 1999) and reports on the decline of French (e.g., The New York Times, October 28, 1999).

There has also been recent attention devoted to the Aboriginal languages of the country. The profile of Aboriginal people in Canada has probably never been higher than in recent years. Several events stand out with respect to language. The release of the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, in the fall of 1996, pointed to the need for Canadians to understand the history and current role of Aboriginal peoples within our country. The importance of this report was reinforced when, a year after its release, Jane Stewart, then Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, made an official apology to the Native people of the country, and guaranteed a large sum of money for healing, including funds for maintenance and revitalization of Aboriginal languages. In the Delgamuukw versus British Columbia decision in 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada...