Studies by 17 international contributors fall under two broad themes: the perception of deaf people and deaf communities by hearing people, and issues related to bilingualism including education and interpretation. Societies under discussion include Sweden, Spain, the European Union, New Zealand, Argentina, Nicaragua, Mexico, and the US. Topics include variation, language contact, multilingualism, language policy and planning, discourse analysis, and language attitudes. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)