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.

Bilingualism and Minority Languages in Europe

Bilingualism and Minority Languages in Europe
Author: Maria del Carmen Parafita Couto
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2017-05-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1443891665

This collection considers such issues as the cognitive, linguistic and emotional benefits of speaking two languages, the perceptions, attitudes and issues relating to identity in minority language areas, and the number of grammatical aspects amongst those who speak these minority languages. The premise of the book is based on the fact that these minority languages have, in the past, been in danger of becoming obsolete, mainly because of negative attitudes regarding the benefits of speaking languages that are considered irrelevant internationally. However, in recent times, the benefits of speaking two languages, including where one is a minority language, have been recognised in ways that were not previously understood. Perhaps because of this, alongside the introduction of legislation in some areas in Europe that has been designed to support the preservation of some of these languages, there has been a re-emergence of many minority languages throughout the continent. Questions remain whether this has led to the languages becoming more widely spoken and whether there are specific benefits that can be gained from speaking them. Exploring these questions has led to an increasing amount of research being undertaken on various aspects of bilingualism in minority language areas in Europe. The book contributes to this debate and underlines the relevance and significance of bilingualism in the specific context where European minority languages are still spoken.

Minority Languages in Europe

Minority Languages in Europe
Author: G. Hogan-Brun
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2003-11-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0230502997

Minority languages in Europe, as part of a common cultural heritage, need protection. The contributions to this book reflect urgent, stimulating and productive debates among researchers in sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, politics and sociology, and among language activists and policy makers. At the heart of the debate are the effectiveness of the existing political and legal frameworks aimed at protecting linguistic and cultural diversity, and prospects for the survival of minority languages in the process of European integration.

The German Language in a Changing Europe

The German Language in a Changing Europe
Author: Michael G. Clyne
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 1995-11-16
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9780521499705

Recent sociopolitical events have profoundly changed the status and functions of German and influenced its usage. In this study (published by Cambridge in 1984) Michael Clyne revises and expands his original analysis of the German language in Language and Society in the German-speaking Countries in the light of such changes as the end of the Cold War, German unification, the redrawing of the map of Europe, increasing European integration, and the changing self-images of Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. His discussion includes the differences in the form, function and status of the various national varieties of German; the relation between standard and non-standard varieties; gender, generational and political variation; Anglo-American influence on German; and the convergence of east and west. The result is a wide-ranging exploration of language and society in the German-speaking countries, all of which have problems or dilemmas concerning nationhood or ethnicity which are language-related and/or language-marked.

Minority Language Protection in Europe

Minority Language Protection in Europe
Author: Council of Europe
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789287167279

This volume contains a selection of papers based on presentations given at the international conference entitled "The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Achievements and Challenges", co-organised by the Council of Europe, The Government of Spain, The Government of the Basque Country And The University of the Basque Country, which was held in Bilbao (Spain) on 20 and 21 April 2009. This work looks at the future prospects of the charter in the light of the experience gained over the first decade of the charter's existence. it is evident that governments bear the primary responsibility in preparing for ratification and in applying the charter, and this is illustrated by case studies for some states parties To The charter. However, regional and local authorities also play a very important role in relation To The charter as they are confronted on a daily basis with the use and protection of minority languages

Minority Languages from Western Europe and Russia

Minority Languages from Western Europe and Russia
Author: Svetlana Moskvitcheva
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2019-11-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030243400

This book offers a comparative approach within a general framework of studies on minority languages of Western Europe and Russia and former Soviet space, focusing on linguistic, legal and categorization aspects. It is connected to a comparative study of the semantic contents of the terms referring to the different categories of these languages. The volume features multidisciplinary approaches, first linguistic (sociolinguistic and semantic) and legal, and investigates the limits of country-to-country comparisons, mirroring cases from France, Spain, and China with their counterparts from Soviet and later Russian configurations. Special examples, from a region as Ingria and a country as Tajikistan, help to contextualize this approach. In addition, the notion of migration languages, also minority languages, is studied in bilingual contexts, both from external (German, Greek, Chinese ...) and internal origins (Chuvash), linked to the urbanization in contemporary societies that has fostered the presence of these languages in major cities.

The Changing Voices of Europe

The Changing Voices of Europe
Author: Winifred V. Davies
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 1994
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Deals with the linguistic repercussions of social and political change in Western Europe in a series of articles by specialists in each area that range from general surveys to detailed studies of one linguistic variety in a particular historical context.

The European Charter for Regional Or Minority Languages

The European Charter for Regional Or Minority Languages
Author: Jean-Marie Woehrling
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9287155720

The Charter is the only European legal instrument specifically designed to protect and promote regional or minority languages, making it the legal reference framework throughout Europe. This publication sets out an article by article commentary on the charter by one of Europe's leading experts on regional or minority languages, in order to explain the control mechanism's conclusions and to enable critical assessment of them.

Language, Ethnicity and the State, Volume 1

Language, Ethnicity and the State, Volume 1
Author: C. O'Reilly
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2016-01-18
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0230504639

Developments in the European Union over the last decade have been largely positive from the perspective of stateless and minority ethnic groups and the survival and prosperity of minority languages. This selection of sociologically and ethnographically oriented work enables the reader to compare developments in different ethno-linguistic revival movements within the European Union. The contributions also explore the impact of EU policy and discourse on the individual movements and the orientation of Western Europe as a whole towards linguistic heterogeneity and cultural diversity. A companion volume (0-333-92924-1) examines the status of minority languages in post-1989 Eastern Europe.