title: Bilingual districts as an instrument in Canadian language policy.
abstract: "Accommodation of a multi-ethnic population within the territory of a single state has been recognized as a world-wide problem.  Within such a society language maintenance is frequently the avenue through which cultural groups seek to preserve their identity.  This paper describes and evaluates the Canadian experience of language planning by concentrating on the bilingual district, the key spatial instrument in the federal Official Languages Act.  The paper argues for a cautious and spatially varied application of the 1969 Act and seeks to suggest ways in which a geolinguistic analysis may further our understanding of plurilingual societies."
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D002170:Canada; D003142:Communication; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D005006:Ethnicity; D005843:Geography; D007802:Language; D009656:North America; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D012939:Social Planning
keywords: Americas; Canada; Communication; Cultural Background; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Ethnic Groups; Geographic Factors; Language; North America; Northern America; Population; Population Characteristics; Social Planning; Spatial Distribution