This volume grew out of the 30th International LAUD Symposium, held in 2004 at the University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany. It constitutes a collection of papers by prominent linguists who explore the interdisciplinary area of language and power. The papers focus on the theoretical and sociolinguistic problems related to the role of power in language policy and language planning situations in multilingual settings, code switches, and associated topics. The fate of African minority languages and their speakers is of particular concern.