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…

This paper explores linguistic landscapes and the enactment of public visibility and presence of non-majority linguistic groups in EU member states. Non-majority linguistic groups gain power, visibility and presence through the introduction of bilingual or multilingual signposts on roads, streets, squares, and public buildings in towns and cities…

The analysis carried out between October 2014 and February 2015 by a team of researchers from the University of Westminster with support from colleagues from across the EU identified the linguistic communities across the 28 EU member states as recognized (or not) by the country's legislation and the linguistic rights of these communities in…

This Eurydice report provides a short overview of policy efforts made across Europe in support of the teaching of regional or minority languages in schools. It firstly presents the reference made to regional or minority languages by top-level education authorities in official documents. It then illustrates some of the policies and measures related…

This article investigates to what extent the European Union (EU) has the means to protect minority and regional languages in the EU, looking at the ways three different bodies of the EU, the European Parliament (EP), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) differ in handling language…

The European Union supports multilingualism and promotes the learning of foreign languages since their knowledge enhances understanding among peoples and increases employability. To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of foreign language education in schools, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been promoted in Europe; this…

This study sought to explore the ideological and implementational spaces for mainstreaming multilingual pedagogies (MPs) in initial teacher education (ITE) policies and curricula across the European Union. The concept of linguistically sensitive teaching (LST) was used as a lens to examine inclusive, equity-centred MPs in ITE. A multi-sited…

Focuses on the quest of contested speech forms for legitimacy as languages rather than dialects, the distinction being explored solely in a political context. Suggests that although the European Union supports the role of nation states in the legitimization of languages, the regular use of French and English has enhanced the status of these two…

Charts the recent debates in France in response to the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages that, if ratified and implemented, would grant limited protection to minority regional languages there. Examines the tenor and substance of the debates surrounding the fate of the charter. Argues that much of its opposition rests on France's…

The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL) seeks to conserve and promote the lesser used autochthonous languages of the European Union, together with their associated cultures. Articles in this volume include the following: "Iurosgoil 99 A Wonderful Experience"; "Law Proposals in Sweden"; "New EBLUL…

This collection of papers presents a range of views about the three-layered language situation in Sweden, a situation not unlike that in many other countries worldwide. The papers include the following: "Introduction" (Sally Boyd and Leena Huss); "Swedish, English, and the European Union" (Bjorn Melander), which summarizes…

This document contains 26 issues (the entire output for the 1990s) of this publication dedicated to the study and preservation of Europe's less spoken languages. Some issues are only in French, and a number are in both French and English. Each issue has articles dealing with minority languages and groups in Europe, with a focus on those in…

This book offers 21 papers in three parts. After (1) "Introduction" (Jacques Maurais and Michael A. Morris), Part 1, "Global Communication Challenges," includes (2) "Towards a New Global Linguistic Order?" (Jacques Maurais); (3) "The Geostrategies of Interlingualism" (Mark Fettes); (4) "Language Policy…

Focuses on issues raised in the late 1990's by the debate about the second major piece of language legislation in Catalonia. Catalonia is a region where devolution and language policies in favor of regional language may have reached limits that are not so much imposed by the national state as by demographic developments within Catalonia itself and…

Suggests that in light of the state of many of the minority languages within the European Union, there are numerous policy imperatives and implications that needs to be addressed in relation to further development of European language policy. Outlines briefly what these might involve by highlighting key principles and discussing these from a…