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Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History

Author: Kurt Braunmüller

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9789027219220

This volume gives an up-to-date account of various situations of language contact and multilingualism in Europe especially from a historical point of view. Its ten contributions present newly collected data from different parts of the continent seen through diverse theoretical perspectives. They show a richness of topics and data that not only reveal numerous historical and sociological facts but also afford considerable insight into possible effects multilingualism and language contact might have on language change. The collection begins its journey through Europe in the British Isles. Then it turns to northern Europe and looks at how multilingualism worked in three towns that are all marked by border and contact situations. The journey continues with linguistic-historical and political-historical visits to Sweden and to Lithuania before the reader is taken to central Europe, where we will deal with the influence of Latin on written German.As far as southern Europe is concerned, the study continues on the Iberian peninsula, where the relationship between Portuguese and Spanish is focused, to be followed by Sardinia and Malta, two islands whose unique geohistorical positions give rise to some consideration of multilingualism in the Mediterranean.

Standard Languages and Multilingualism in European History

Author: Matthias Hüning

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2012-05-31

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 902727391X

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This volume explores the roots of Europe's struggle with multilingualism. It argues that, over the centuries, the pursuit of linguistic homogeneity has become a central aspect of the mindset of Europeans. In its extreme form, it became manifest in the principle of 'one language, one state, one people'. Consequently, multilingualism came to be viewed as an undesirable aberration. The authors of this volume approach the relationship between standard languages and multilingualism from a historical, cross-European perspective. They provide a comprehensive overview of the emergence of a standard language ideology and its intricate relationship with matters of ethnicity, territorial unity and social mobility. They explain for different European language areas in what ways the emergence of standard languages had an impact on multilingual policies and practices. Its comparative approach makes this volume an important resource for linguists, researchers from different philologies and social historians.

The Golden Mean of Languages

Author: Alisa van de Haar

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-09-02

Total Pages: 439

ISBN-13: 9004408592

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Alisa van de Haar sheds new light on the debates regarding the form and status of the vernacular in the early modern Low Countries, where both French and Dutch were spoken as local tongues.

Multilingual Europe, Multilingual Europeans

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-06-29

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 9401208034

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Multilingualism is a crucial if often unrecognized marker of new European identities. In this collection of essays, we observe how a plurilinguist and pluricultural political entity practices and theorizes multilingualism. We ask which types of multilingualism are defined, encouraged or discouraged at the level of official policies, but also at the level of communities. We look at speakers of hegemonic or minority languages, at travellers and long-term migrants or their children, and analyse how their conversations are represented in official documents, visual art, cinema, literature and popular culture. The volume is divided into two parts that focus respectively on “Multilingual Europe” and “Multilingual Europeans.” The first series of chapters explore the extent to which multilingualism is treated as both a challenge and an asset by the European Union, examine which factors contribute to the proliferation of languages: globalisation, the enlargement of the European Union and EU language policies. The second part of the volume concentrates on the ways in which cultural productions represent the linguistic practices of Europeans in a way that emphasizes the impossibility to separate language from culture, nationality, but also class, ethnicity or gender. The chapters suggest that each form of plurilingualism needs to be carefully analysed rather than celebrated or condemned.

Multilingualism: A Very Short Introduction

Author: John C. Maher

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0191038075

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The languages of the world can be seen and heard in cities and towns, forests and isolated settlements, as well as on the internet and in international organizations like the UN or the EU. How did the world acquire so many languages? Why can't we all speak one language, like English or Esperanto? And what makes a person bilingual? Multilingualism, language diversity in society, is a perfect expression of human plurality. About 6,500-7,000 languages are spoken, written and signed, throughout the linguistic landscape of the world, by people who communicate in more than one language (at work, or in the family or community). Many origin myths, like Babel, called it a 'punishment' but multilingualism makes us who we are and plays a large part of our sense of belonging. Languages are instruments for interacting with the cultural environment and their ecology is complex. They can die (Tasmanian), or decline then revive (Manx and Hawaiian), reconstitute from older forms (modern Hebrew), gain new status (Catalan and Maori) or become autonomous national languages (Croatian). Languages can even play a supportive and symbolic role as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood, such as in the cases of Catalonia and Scotland. In this Very Short Introduction John C. Maher shows how multilingualism offers cultural diversity, complex identities, and alternative ways of doing and knowing to hybrid identities. Increasing multilingualism is drastically changing our view of the value of language, and our notion of the part language plays in national and cultural identities. At the same time multilingualism can lead to social and political conflict, unequal power relations, issues of multiculturalism, and discussions over 'national' or 'official' languages, with struggles over language rights of local and indigenous communities. Considering multilingualism in the context of globalization, Maher also looks at the fate of many endangered languages as they disappear from the world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Multilingual Practices in Language History

Author: Päivi Pahta

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2017-12-18

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1501504940

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Texts of the past were often not monolingual but were produced by and for people with bi- or multilingual repertoires; the communicative practices witnessed in them therefore reflect ongoing and earlier language contact situations. However, textbooks and earlier research tend to display a monolingual bias. This collected volume on multilingual practices in historical materials, including code-switching, highlights the importance of a multilingual approach. The authors explore multilingualism in hitherto neglected genres, periods and areas, introduce new methods of locating and analysing multiple languages in various sources, and review terminology, theories and tools. The studies also revisit some of the issues already introduced in previous research, such as Latin interacting with European vernaculars and the complex relationship between code-switching and lexical borrowing. Collectively, the contributors show that multilingual practices share many of the same features regardless of time and place, and that one way or the other, all historical texts are multilingual. This book takes the next step in historical multilingualism studies by establishing the relevance of the multilingual approach to understanding language history.

Urban Multilingualism in Europe

Author: Giuditta Caliendo

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2019-12-02

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1501503200

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Today’s growing mobility in European urban regions results in a more widespread language diversity, which is increasingly challenging current language policies. Against this background, this volume deals with the interface between language policy, language planning and actual practices. The impact that prevailing language policies have on language practices is observed in a series of urban settings, leading to a reflection on the changes that need to be brought about to promote social inclusion and valorise linguistic diversity in a context of globalisation-affected and migration-related multilingualism. The topics of discussion draw on different theoretical perspectives and span the research fields of linguistics, education, (family) language policy and planning, language acquisition and sociology.

Multilingualism and Bilingualism

Author: Sammy Beban Chumbow

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2018-05-30

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1789232260

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Research in the area of bilingualism and multilingualism invariably produces fascinating insights. In the Europe of yesteryears, the paradigm of one nation one language was dominant and fashionable as a nation-building ideology that multilingualism was considered a curse, a demon that had to be exorcised. Today, the avalanche of empirical evidence of research findings has established multilingualism and pluralism as an ideal for national development. The nine chapters of this book provide further elucidations of the issue of benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism and also provide original research findings on developments in the areas of psychological dimensions of bilingualism and bilingualism in information retrieval systems. The book by its illuminating description and insightful analysis of issues of bilingualism will be of significant interest to scholars, researchers, and all concerned with bilingualism and multilingualism from whatever perspective.

Managing Multilingualism in a European Nation-state

Author: Sally Boyd

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9781853595585

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This text analyzes recent shifts in Swedish language policy. Special focus is given to the complex relationships of the Swedish language to both English and to indigenous and immigrant minority languages in Sweden. Key issues addressed include the current debate concerning Sweden's official majority and minority languages; the position of immigrant and indigenous languages in the Swedish school system, the influence of the spread of English on the use of Swedish, particularly in writing; and the role of Swedish within the European Union. The contributions synthesize research on the status of languages currently used in Sweden as well as policy initiatives, and taken together the papers accurately present the many sides of the complex debate taking place there. While this book focuses on one country's struggle for multilingualism, the issues presented here are highly relevant and accessible to all readers interested in linguistic rights and language policy.