This paper discusses contemporary societal roles of German in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania). Speaker and learner statistics and a summary of sociolinguistic research (Linguistic Landscapes, language learning motivation, language policies, international roles of languages) suggest that German has by far fewer speakers and functions…

In recent decades, language revitalisation policies, programmes and initiatives have had to develop in an environment of major social, political, economic, or technological changes that have had an extraordinary impact on the governance of minority language revitalisation. In this context, we have studied the changes that have taken place in the…

In the British region of Cornwall, state intervention in long-standing practices of the translation of music lyrics for song competitions has created major shifts, including remarkable competitive successes. Proponents of the Kernewek (Cornish) Language have long used translated musical lyrics as a tool for language revival, especially in annual…

Drawing on the perspective of decolonizing methodology, this paper problematises the conventional interview technique of avoiding yes-or-no questions introduced by handbooks of research methods in applied linguistics. By demonstrating how this interview technique was found unsuitable in the first author's ethnographic study of multilingualism with…

AI potential to recolonise language practices by reproducing existing marginalisations in novel ways has already instilled fears of a 'contemporary dystopia' (Miras et al., 2022) -- a space of cultural and linguistic erasure. Accents represent a distinctive aspect of language practice associated with one's sociocultural, and ethno-racial…

A well-devised formulation of language planning and policy creates a sense of ownership among speakers of all languages. At the same time, its absence may lead to asymmetrical power relations among speakers of different languages. This article aims at presenting a critical analysis of language planning and policy (LPP) in Pakistan and its impact…

This article discusses the rationale for using language diaries as a method to evaluate language use and language choice in multilingual contexts, as well as the benefits and limitations of this approach vis-à-vis other research methods. This is illustrated using examples from two contexts: Flemish Sign Language/Dutch bilinguals in Flanders and…

In this article, we address the epistemological conflict inherent in the relationship between named languages and translanguaging theory. Following with interest Turnbull's (2016) reframing of foreign language education as bilingual education and García's (2017) response, we see the logic of this reframing, but we also acknowledge García's concern…

In this article, we study a simple mathematical model of a bilingual community in which all agents are fluent in the majority language but only a fraction of the population has some degree of proficiency in the minority language. We investigate how different distributions of proficiency, combined with the speakers' attitudes toward or against the…

In 'Literature and Life', Deleuze remarks that all literature manifests as delirium, and, as such, the destiny of literature is to play itself out between two poles that create and reflect life back to itself: what the human desires, and the constant changes life imposes onto us. Taking Deleuze's statement as a point of departure concerning the…

The aim of this contribution is to analyze the linguistic practices of a migrant collective, speakers of a minoritized language, from a glottopolitical perspective. This will be illustrated by the description of the communicative practices of the migrant workers from Galicia (Spain) in Hanover (Federal Republic of Germany) in the 1960s and beyond.…

European discourse on linguistic minorities reflect the construction of inter-ethnic boundaries between national (such as Dutch or French), indigenous minorities (such as Basque, Catalan or Frisian), and immigrant minorities (Arabic, Berber or Turkish). In the European public discourse on immigrant minority groups, two major characteristics…

There is a relationship between language and the environment. Languages shape worldviews, inform behaviours, and are not disconnected from local political, sociocultural, and ecological contexts. English has an enduring colonial, imperialist, and assimilationist legacy and can be easily delinked from context, culture, and place. In this article,…

This paper explores the translation of non-canonised literature from a minority culture (Catalan) into a hegemonic culture (Spanish). In particular, it focuses on the ideological and sociocultural factors which lead the translator to purge the translation of idiosyncratic elements pertaining to the source culture. The aim is to show that the…

This paper explores the experience and impact of participation in afterschool oral improvisation workshops -- bertso workshops -- for young Basque speakers. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews among young people in the Northern Basque Country, the researcher, a practicing improviser, bertsolari, herself, argues that the…