Literacy practices of linguistic minorities: Sociolinguistic issues and implications for literacy services

Literacy, as it applies to linguistic minorities, is examined as a discourse of power in this theoretical article. Literacy needs to be redefined in order for librarians to be able to provide people whose languages are not the dominant or official ones in society with appropriate literacy services. This redefinition recognizes the politics of language and literacy, challenges the mainstream (dominant culture) concept of literacy, and includes (1) expanding the definition of literacy that takes into account the language and cultural knowledge of linguistic minorities, (2) examining the nature of literacy and literacy practices of linguistic minorities from a social perspective, and (3) understanding how the literacy of linguistic minorities is measured. By understanding these critical issues of adult literacy in linguistic minority communities, librarians can implement the proposed strategic directions for delivering appropriate literacy services to linguistic minorities.