Author Biography:
Ofelia Garcia is professor in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is presently coordinator of the Bilingual Education program and co-director of the Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies. Her research interests are in the areas of sociology of language, language education policy, multilingualism and multilingual education, immigrant education, and teacher education for urban schools. She was a student of Joshua A. Fishman and has been his co-author and co-editor.
Rakhmiel Peltz is Professor of Sociolinguistics and Director of Judaic Studies at Drexel University. His specialization is the social history of Yiddish language and culture. He holds two doctorates, and has published in both molecular biology and Yiddish linguistics.
Harold Schiffman's research interests focus on the linguistics of the Dravidian languages, and in the area of language policy. He has published in these two areas where overlapping interests in sociolinguistics (diglossia, language standardization, multilingualism) intersect with language policy and the politics of language. He is also director of the Consortium for Language Policy and Planning, and Pedagogical Materials Director of the newly constituted National South Asia Language Resource Center.