Language planning in action: Searching for a viable bidialectal program

In the past thirty years or so substantial research has emerged about the status of dialects and their use in education. The literature on dialects in education is diverse and deals with issues related to both dialectal and bidialectal approaches to education. In the present paper an effort is made to propose the construction of a viable bidialectal program that is (a) optimally suited to the Greek Cypriot linguistic setting, (b) specifically attuned to the sociopolitical and historical context of Cyprus and (c) most appropriate in addressing Cyprus’ educational needs and requirements. In proposing the development of a viable model, three major considerations were taken into account: (i) the properties of bidialectal programs that have been in effect worldwide, (ii) the experiences gained by countries that have adopted bidialectal programs and (iii) the findings of recent empirical studies dealing with the linguistic landscape of Cyprus.