Immigrant Languages in Europe

Immigrant Languages in Europe
Author: Guus Extra
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 352
Release: 1993
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781853591792

The focus of this book is on immigrant groups and immigrant languages with a recent or earlier background of migration to industrialized countries in Western and Northern Europe. After presenting some basic concepts in the area of language and immigration, the book focuses on demographic statistics of immigrant groups in European Community countries and Scandinavia, and on research in the field of immigrant language varieties.

The Other Languages of Europe

The Other Languages of Europe
Author: Guus Extra
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2001
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781853595097

The book offers demographic, sociolinguistic, and educational perspectives on the status of both regional and immigrant languages in Europe and in a wider international context. From a cross-national point of view, empirical evidence on the status of these other languages of multicultural Europe is brought together in a combined frame of reference.

Migration and Language Education in Southern Europe

Migration and Language Education in Southern Europe
Author: Eleni Griva
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2021-10-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 152757573X

The entry of migrant populations to Europe, and especially to countries of Southern Europe, is expected to drastically change the make-up of state school classes as learners of various ages, ethnic backgrounds, and mother tongues are going to co-exist within the same educational setting. In Greece, in particular, the landscape of education has already started changing as a significant number of immigrant students have joined mainstream classrooms. This volume maps this new educational reality and its challenges, as Greek teachers are required, with very limited training and resources, to address those students’ educational and socio-emotional needs. All chapters are authored by Greek researchers who are actively involved in the study of refugees’ and immigrants’ education, their needs, and their educational, linguistic and political rights. Despite the fact that education for immigrants and refugees has become the focus of much research on a global level, the ongoing rapid rise of immigrant populations in Southern Europe has not been adequately researched. This book consequently meets the need for further research and empirical studies in this field.

Multilingual Europe

Multilingual Europe
Author: Guus Extra
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2008-12-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110208350

This book offers an inclusive perspective on the constellation of languages in Europe by taking into account official state languages, regional minority languages and immigrant minority languages. Although "celebrating linguistic diversity" is one of the key propositions in the European discourse on multilingualism and language policies, this device holds for these three types of languages in a decreasing order. All three types of languages, however, are constituent parts of a multilingual European identity and should be taken into account in any type of language policy. Both facts and policies on multilingualism and plurilingual education are addressed in case studies at the national and European level. The selection of case studies is based on a careful weighing of geographical spread of countries and languages across Europe on the one hand, and availability of established expert knowledge on the other. After an Introduction to the theme of the book (Guus Extra and Durk Gorter), Part I deals with official state languages with a focus on the spread of English as lingua franca across Europe (Juliane House), on French and France (Dennis Ager), on Polish in Poland and abroad (Justyna Lesniewśka), and on language constellations in the Baltic States (Gabrielle Hogan-Brun). Part II deals with regional minority languages with a focus on Catalan in Spain (Francesc Xavier Vila i Moreno), Frisian in the Netherlands (Durk Gorter et al.), Hungarian as a minority language in Central Europe (Susan Gal), and Saami in the Nordic countries (Mikael Svonni). Part III deals with immigrant minority languages in the United Kingdom (Viv Edwards), Sweden (Lilian Nygren-Junkin), Italy (Monica Barni and Carla Bagna) and Europe at large (Guus Extra and Kutlay Yağmur).

Urban Multilingualism in Europe

Urban Multilingualism in Europe
Author: Guus Extra
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2004
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781853597787

This book is the final outcome of the crossnational Multilingual Cities Project, carried out under the auspices of the European Cultural Foundation, established in Amsterdam, and coordinated by Babylon, Centre for Studies of the Multicultural Society, at Tilburg University. The book offers multidisciplinary, crossnational, and crosslinguistic perspectives on the status of immigrant minority languages at home and school in a dominant Germanic or Romance environment in six major multicultural cities across Europe. From North to South these cities are Goteborg, Hamburg, The Hague, Brussels, Lyon, and Madrid.

Europe and the Politics of Language

Europe and the Politics of Language
Author: Máiréad Nic Craith
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2005-12-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230501893

Do political boundaries impact on concepts of language? How significant is language for citizenship in contemporary Europe? Can disputed languages acquire full status? Should non-European languages receive recognition from the EU? These are among the many questions explored in this new study of official, regional and disputed languages in an ever-changing European context. Broad policy issues and the performance of the range of instruments of policy at local, national and European levels are illustrated with reference to case studies across Europe.

Discourses on Language and Integration

Discourses on Language and Integration
Author: Gabrielle Hogan-Brun
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2009
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027206236

One of the most pressing issues in contemporary European societies is the need to promote integration and social inclusion in the context of rapidly increasing migration. A particular challenge confronting national governments is how to accommodate speakers of an ever-increasing number of languages within what in most cases are still perceived as monolingual indigenous populations. This has given rise to public debates in many countries on controversial policies imposing a requirement of competence in a 'national' language and culture as a condition for acquiring citizenship. However, these debates are frequently conducted almost entirely at a national level within each state, with little if any attention paid to the broader European context. At the same time, further EU enlargement and the ongoing rise in the rate of migration into and across Europe suggest that the salience of these issues is likely to continue to grow. This volume offers a critical analysis of these debates and emerging discourses on integration and challenges the assumptions underlying the new 'language testing regimes'.

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: from one country to another, from one language to another

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: from one country to another, from one language to another
Author: Council of Europe
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2014-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 928717962X

The linguistic integration of migrants affects every aspect of settling in a new country (employment, health, etc.). The aim of this collection of texts is to propose a number of specific measures member states can take to help adult migrants become acquainted with the language of the host country. The main focus is on organising language courses that meet migrants’ real communication needs. It is not enough for authorities simply to consider the technical aspects of such courses, they should also design and conduct them in accordance with the fundamental values of the Council of Europe. A number of issues concerning the linguistic integration of adult migrants are presented here, beginning with the notion of linguistic integration itself. Family reunion, the nature of citizenship and the function of language tests, among others, are dealt with from the point of view of language and language use. Readers are invited to reflect on the type of language competences that need to be acquired as well as an appropriate use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The collection also sets out approaches and instruments designed to assist in implementing effective policies.

Migration, Multilingualism and Schooling in Southern Europe

Migration, Multilingualism and Schooling in Southern Europe
Author: Sandro Caruana
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2014-08-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1443865664

Migration, Multilingualism and Schooling in Southern Europe, edited by Sandro Caruana, Liliana Coposescu and Stefania Scaglione, deals with a highly current topic in Europe today, namely migration in Southern European countries and its impact on children in primary schooling. The volume deals with migration, both through the contribution of experts in the field, and through the results of an EU-funded project, MERIDIUM, which spanned over three years and touched on a number of topical issues. The studies included in the volume mainly take place in six countries, traditionally known for outbound rather than inbound migration, and they examine how recent waves of migration are affecting language use, linguistic attitudes and perception towards language diversity. Some of the questions addressed in the various chapters of the volume are: how has migration in Southern Europe altered the sociolinguistic profile of some regions? How do children in schools, and their parents, react to the presence of different languages and to different cultures in educational institutions? Do educational authorities, school directors and teachers feel adequately equipped to face the challenges that these demographic changes are bringing about? Is there adequate planning and are there sufficient language policies in order to provide the necessary framework which could lead to better integration of migrants in schools?