This paper addresses the role of bottom-up prescriptive pressures in language policy debates and their interplay with institution-driven, top-down influences. I approach this issue through an analysis of social media data concerning debates surrounding recent orthographic reform in France. Building on Heyd's (Lang Soc 43: 489-514, 2014) discussion…

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…

This article looks at France's Loi Toubon, which mandates the use of French in private companies, to illustrate how macro-level language planning reaches a dead end if it fails to consider local contexts and involve micro-level agents. The motivations, limitations and contradictions of France's language policy in relation to companies are…

This is a unique and groundbreaking collection of questions and answers coming from higher education institutions on diverse fields and across a wide spectrum of countries and cultures. It creates routes for further innovation, collaboration amidst the Sciences (both Natural and Social) and the Humanities and the private and the public sectors of…

This paper examines the influence of the Internet on the French language from a predominantly sociolinguistic perspective, noting the main areas of debate between francophone businesses, governments, and "Institutions de la Francophonie," while considering theories of language in contact and language policy. It analyzes a number of…

Documents the evolution of the Dutch and French languages. Policy and planning initiatives for both languages are discussed, and organizations responsible for planning initiatives for each language are described. (DJD)

The effects of differing and often opposing language policies on the sociolinguistic position of the Alsatian language are discussed. An attempt is made to show how the function and scope of Alsatian have been reduced, and how borrowings from French have created a dialect with unique characteristics. It has survived despite its lack of official…

Highlights a language awareness project in a small primary school in the Mulhouse area of Alsace in France as an example of how languages of unequal status can be placed on an equal footing in a school context, how children can be educated to linguistic and cultural variety, and the teachers can be made aware of the linguistic and cultural wealth…

The papers included in this issue are from a conference on language policy. The papers are: "Why Promote European Multilingualism? French Experience" (Claude Truchot); "German Attitudes to European Language Policy" (Ulrich Ammon); "Minority Language Rights in Contemporary Europe" (Tove Skutnabb-Kangas); "Teacher…

This series of discussions is based on an experiment, created by a multidisciplinary French Civilization Group in Seattle, the purpose of which was to compare the ways in which different cultures deal with certain civic issues. Four discussions were held over a period of two months. Two were concerned with day care education, one with…

Policy and planning concerning the minority languages of immigrants are discussed, focusing on three countries receiving many immigrants: England, France, and Germany. First, similarities and differences in the immigration histories of the three countries, and in their policies concerning education of immigrants, are examined. Then policy…

A historical survey of French regional language legislation and analysis of the present state of the seven regional idioms in education, media, and government are used to illustrate the languages' severe persecution and contamination. Organizations promoting the less-used languages and the upcoming barrier-free European market accord are…

Outlines a framework for analyzing the spread of English in eight areas: the sciences, business and industry, culture and media, daily life, education, language contact phenomena (codeswitching, linguistic borrowing), attitudes toward English, and language policies. Specific focus is on the situation in France, but provides a perspective…

This paper describes the results of a study conducted by the Center for Educational Research and Innovation regarding language policies and programs in five countries which belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. Part I explains the study's focus on language…

The aim of this book is to investigate the motives for action on language behavior, whether this means corpus, status, or acquisition planning. It examines such questions as why individuals, groups, and governments try to influence their own or others' language behavior or language attitudes, and what drives authorities to try to control, favor,…