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The discourse on linguistic diversity, relativity and pluralism is currently dominant in sociolinguistics. By extension, arguments for universalism are currently unfashionable in the field, particularly within its interpretivist strand. This paper claims that interpretivist sociolinguistics promotes conflicting, often lukewarm, and at times antagonistic views on universalism as a core emancipatory value. In response, the argument is made that appreciating universalism requires a layered social ontology afforded by critical realism. To build this critique, the paper first surveys how universalism has been neglected by prominent interpretivist sociolinguists to date. It then provides a conceptual account of critical realism's layered social ontology and its relation to sociolinguistics. A discussion on the nature and importance of values in social science and sociolinguistics follows. Finally, the paper discusses universalism as a core emancipatory value, its critique, and its relation to sociolinguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how and whether speakers of endangered languages employ variation as a stylistic resource to make social meaning and index their identities. The study is set in historically Creole-speaking communities in rural Louisiana, which have now shifted almost completely to English. The Americanization of Louisiana induced language shift, but also a shift to the Anglo-American racial binary which supplanted local constructs of ethnicity and race. The study crafts a historical-sociolinguistic account of this process of Americanization, examining how linguistic differentiation was enacted through the enregisterment of iconic 'Creole'/'French' variants as indexical links to the 'Black'/'White' racial binary. Today, to a very limited extent, some speakers of Louisiana Creole still consider some variants socially meaningful and employ them to stylistic ends. This depends especially on racial identity and the variant in question. Subject pronouns retain some indexical value, occasionally employed stylistically by speakers racialized as White. However, front vowel rounding has fossilized: highly meaningful in the early-20th century, its social meaning has been lost resulting in synchronic personal-pattern variation. The paper ends by trying to reconcile classic studies of Language Death with contemporary variationist critique, answering recent calls for more nuanced approaches to sociolinguistic variation in threatened languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on launch of the new Sociolinguistica: European Journal of Sociolinguistics, as announced in the preface to volume 35 of Sociolinguistica: International Yearbook of European Sociolinguistics. Topics include examines in this opening contribution individuals would first like to reflect briefly on the history of Sociolinguistica as a yearbook and explain the rationale for its transition to a journal; and considered the aim of positively influencing the circulation of sociolinguistic information as they decided to complement the more classic book reviews in each volume.

This opinion piece discusses how research on language ideologies (or, for that matter, ideologies of communication in general) relates to micro/macro distinctions of both the research field and the discipline of sociolinguistics. Starting off from the thesis that both object and strand of research at stake here do not neatly fit this dichotomous distinction, the paper discusses the Fishmanian origins as well as the diverse and diverging definitions of micro- andmacro-sociolinguistics that ensued from Fishman's proposal, considering the different assumptions that underlie the respective variants of the distinction. The piece discusses why language ideology research locates its object, and itself as a discipline, beyond the micro/macro binarism, and how/why it embraces a more scalar, relative and reflexive approach to social and linguistic juxtaposition, ordering and ranking. To this end, the concept of 'social scales' and its uptake by language ideology research are introduced and discussed. Finally, the paper provides an opinion on what the future of sociolinguistics should be like – independently from the particular strand at stake here – and about the role of this newly launched journal (with its long history as a yearbook) as the author wishes to see it being taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the opposition between the realities and ideologies surrounding multilingualism in Latvia. Building mostly on Bourdieu's theory of language in society, and multilingual awareness as a concept, we study the socio-economic value of multilingual repertoires in a multilingual setting (Latvia), and language users' awareness of the link between their language competences (Latvian, Russian, English) and socio-economic status. By analysing sociolinguistic survey data, we demonstrate, firstly, that different multilingual repertoires are linked with differences in family income, level of education, and labour market position. Secondly, our data indicate that people generally do not acknowledge the link between their language skills and socio-economic status. To explore this further, we zoom in on language ideologies in formal education. We examine data on the multilingual awareness of Latvian language teachers from focus-group interviews and show that they tend to construe languages in competition, emphasise the symbolic value of Latvian, and ignore the multilingualism of their pupils and broader society. The study illuminates the dissonance between the multilingual realities of a post-Soviet EU country in which multilingual repertoires carry different values for individuals, and the Latvian-centred ideologies (disseminated by the teachers) that leave the presence of multilingualism and accompanying issues unacknowledged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the long history of mutual language contact, Slavic languages have had a considerable influence on German and attitudes towards multilingualism in Austria. With regard to the multilingual setting in the Habsburg state and its repercussions to this day, this article outlines the basic assumptions, the methodological toolkit as well as the main general findings of the special research programme "German in Austria. Variation – Contact – Perception", especially its task cluster on language contact. The opinion paper concludes with an overview of the methodological lessons learnt and the possible implications for further sociolinguistic research in historical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Identity" as an operating variable and/or explanatory concept continues to pervade sociolinguistic scholarship. This article reflects on and discusses the continuing dominance of post-structural and social constructionist accounts of identity and debates whether recent work has led to an "unrestrained embracing of speaker agency" (Bell 2017: 592) with a comparative neglect of social structure, or whether this work is contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between local meaning-making practices and macro-socio(linguistic) processes, and thereby challenging extant binaries in sociolinguistics, in particular: the treatment of stability versus fluidity, agency versus structure and the traditional dichotomy between micro- and macro-sociolinguistics. Reflecting on historical developments and recent trends, it outlines the significant contribution of theoretical models and empirical studies to sociolinguistics, whilst noting obvious gaps, e.g. insufficient studies of the Global South. It is argued that recent work is contributing to a sociolinguistics which foregrounds and problematises the concept of "context" and the contingency of difference and belonging. The paper also argues that recent identity scholarship opens up opportunities for cross-disciplinary projects, drawing on the combined expertise of sociolinguistics, cognitive sociologists and psycholinguists to explain inter alia such phenomena as fluidity and variation in speaker/community attitudes and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing data from written sources from the late-19th to early 20th century, I show several patterns of variation among obstruents, focusing mainly on final obstruent neutralization, a German phenomenon that is characteristic of the English spoken in Wisconsin by newly arrived German immigrants to the Upper Midwest (specifically Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Examples were gathered from the writings of these immigrants. I supplement the English data with samples from German authors in the same community and include sociolinguistic data where possible. This paper extends modern sociophonetic work into the past with data from both German and English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on sociolinguistic variation in spoken Italian, discussing the evolution of language varieties from a situation of "spoken diglossia" to the emergence of a new standard variety known as neo-standard Italian. It explains how socio-economic changes led to the convergence of linguistic features, both from below and from above, resulting in the coexistence of multiple standard varieties and the obsolescence of socially and regionally marked features.

The study of language contact in the ancient world has been an area of huge growth over the past ten years. However, in areas of the ancient world where sources are more limited, scholars have been more hesitant to make sweeping claims about the nature of language contact, even in communities where societal bilingualism is likely to have existed for many centuries. Languages only attested in fragmentary epigraphic corpora are considered the ultimate "bad data" and have not always received a great deal of attention in historical sociolinguistics, despite these texts representing our best evidence of many of the communities across the ancient Mediterranean. In response to this problem, this article asks how we should go about interpreting the evidence of ancient language contact in small or fragmentary corpora of texts. This article uses the Oscan corpus from Southern Italy (Lucania, Bruttium and Messina) c. 400--50 BCE as a case study for examining bilingualism in a fragmentary corpus. It outlines the data gathered from a range of different text-types from Southern Italy, the different kinds of contact phenomena which have been found in these texts, and whether there are any discernible patterns in the data. It argues, because of the fragmentary state of the Oscan corpus, that there is little clear evidence of chronological or geographic differentiation in levels of bilingualism. Rather, the evidence shows that in this corpus some text-types are more likely than others to contain contact phenomena. With this in mind, this paper proposes a new model which includes consideration of text-type for the interpretation of language contact and bilingualism in fragmentary corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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An interview is presented with Peter Trudgill, a renowned figure in sociolinguistics. Trudgill critiques the concept of sociolinguistic "waves" over the last decade, expressing skepticism towards the three-wave approach emphasizing social meaning and stylistic practice. Topics include Trudgill's disapproval of the three "waves" model in sociolinguistic historiography, emphasizing linguistic goals over ethnographic shifts.

Luxembourgish is a Germanic language in Western Europe situated on the Germanic-Romance language border. The centuries-long multilingualism, that has included German and French as main contact languages, has led to much variation on all linguistic levels, yielding lexical doublets – contact-induced synonym pairs. The study presents the results from the online Lëtzebuerger Futtballsprooch 'Luxembourgish football language' survey (n = 1189 participants), set up to analyze the distribution of the variants of lexical doublets in the special language of football in order to exemplify the mechanisms of contact-induced lexical variation in Luxembourgish as a whole. The variation is correlated with sociodemographic and language biographical factors (quantitative analysis, beta regression). The study also introduces linguistic orientation as an overarching factor for the individual language biography that is useful to model the positioning of individuals in relation to the contact languages involved in a complex multilingual society. The results reveal a societal trend towards Germanic variants linked to the linguistic orientation of the participants towards German, mirroring sociolinguistic dynamics and changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on multilingualism in language contact, language use, and language planning. Topics discussed include historical sociolinguistics and language variation in culture; language planning and its phrases for historical linguistics; sociolinguistic identity; and school inspection. It further includes settings in historical multilingualism, language varieties in text fragments for multilingual experience, official announcements for promoting the same, and standards in language ideology.

Research on language standardization witnessed remarkable progress over the past two decades. Building on the strong foundations laid by Einar Haugen, the scholarly canon on the topic was renewed, while also addressing a number of shortcomings of earlier theory building. As historical sociolinguistics gained momentum, standardization history faced the challenge of including 'voices from below' as they appeared in new and socially inclusive corpora of egodocuments from the past centuries. This implied an increased focus on the formerly overlooked role and presence of non-standard varieties, but also on the ideological driving factors behind many standardization efforts. The article makes a case for specific and ongoing attention to the implementation phase of standardization measures, as well as for the study of language conflicts from times past to help prevent imminent geopolitical struggles (or, for worse, to inform our understanding of these conflicts in the near future). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various collections of language biographies starting in the 1990s have given rise to a new field of investigation in sociolinguistics. The interest in the very individual, autobiographical viewpoint on languages in speakers' own repertoires offers new insights for macrosociolinguistic research. These detailed corpora also provide data for microanalytical investigations into the specificity of autobiographical narrations, i.e. how speakers construe their language repertoires in the narrative interview setting. This contribution seeks to depict how the interest in LB emerged and subsequently describes the most important developments in LB research, which to date is still limited to the European arena. Since the field is still growing and is in need of formalization, this overview must remain incomplete. Finally, the contribution warns of pitfalls and highlights some fields where LB has provided important input, from language didactics to neurolinguistic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more than half a century, sociolinguistic research on language maintenance and shift has developed in different directions depending on the type of speech community it focuses on. The similarities between "indigenous" as autochthonous and "migrant" as allochthonous languages undergoing shift have often been overlooked and the two have been treated differently. Such a division not only reflects a much-debated dichotomy between "old" and "new" minorities in political and legal scholarship, but is also linked to different legal and institutional treatments of such minorities and their languages. However, at a time when the mobilities paradigm has become an integral aspect of sociolinguistic scholarship, there is a need to rethink the way in which sociolinguists have come to terms with migration so far, including a highly problematic and artificial separation of different types of linguistic community based on perceived migrational status. Such a rethink is needed in order to be able to provide more contextualized analyses of locally specific sociolinguistic realities, which can rarely be determined on the basis of widely assumed categorizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I reflect on the future of macro-sociolinguistic research from a global-south perspective. I discuss the role that activism has played in scholarly work, and how such activism was hampered by persistent ideologies of 'thingification'; that is, ideologies that created languages and nations as 'objects' (to be managed and controlled by states and local/national/global elites). I ground the history of such discourses in colonialism-capitalism. I further explore the global and local regimes of language that were created through the dehumanizing violence of colonialism-capitalism, as well as the alternative futures that have been imagined by all those who resisted – and continue to resist – this violence. I conclude with some thoughts on temporalities, on the different relationships with, and to, time and the urgency of the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital media have become a mainstream source of data for sociolinguistics, reflecting the ubiquity of such media and the centrality of their role in people's everyday speech as well as changed attitudes towards what constitutes a valid object of study in sociolinguistics. As our personal and professional reality becomes more technologized, there is, however, an urgent need to engage with a deeper understanding of the current and evolving digital economy underpinning this reality in order to assess critically the data that we now encounter. Trends such as personalization, securitization, and hierarchization, for example, mean that the sociolinguistic data we encounter are increasingly shaped by users' digital identities. In the current digital economy, language is a key tool for steering, recording, and tracking these identities, for example, in the form of algorithms; however, the sociolinguistic dimension to these processes has not yet been explored fully. As well as more integrated approaches to studying digital sociolinguistic data, our increasingly technologized reality demands that we build algorithmic reflexivity into our teaching and our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents results of a project studying the codes witching (CS) phenomenon in the Sardic-Italian language. The status of the linguistic minority results from their socio-cultural subordination by a majority. The subordinated status results from the often-limited material and immaterial resources as well as from the conditions of the emergence of the minority, whereby a society based on the concept of nation-state gives rise to the classical context for the differentiation of linguistic minority and the majority. The stratification of the status of language and the languages as well as the asymmetry of the contact situations as a rule leads to the fact that the minority language, which is appropriate at the most as a language spoken only within the confines of a household, is often attached with the social stigma and therefore they are abandoned by its speakers.

This article argues that the notion of pluricentricity fails to capture the multitude of sociolinguistic contexts in which a language may have two or more standards, which is due to the fact that it was invented with a particular context in mind (that of emerging nation-states). The notion also suffers from a reliance on an undefined and unclear (perhaps metaphorical) notion of a centre (and a periphery). A more neutral term such as multi-standard language therefore appears more useful. It is also argued that pluriareality is not a notion that can fruitfully replace pluricentricity, as the two presuppose different approaches to standardisation: one usage-based, the other normative. This is demonstrated with reference to the on-going discussion of the Austrian variety of German. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research concerning the standardization of Galician as a Romance language intermediated between Portuguese and Spanish. It highlights the strict oral language from the late Middle Ages in the 20th century. Information about the description of the intense process of standardization in the 1970s as well as the summary of key issues in the normative debate, is provided. Documentation of standardization includes selection, codification, implementation and elaboration. An overview on the historical background of Galician in the Roman languages, is also mentioned.

The articles discusses arguments for and against the compulsory teaching of Swedish in Finnish schools. The author argues the Swedish is the lingua franca of Scandinavia due to its mutual intelligibility among speakers of Finnish, Norwegian, and Danish and examines contentions that due to the ubiquity of English in 21st-century Scandinavian society the education of students in Swedish is no longer necessary. Comments from former Swedish Green Party spokeswoman Maria Wetterstrand on the connection of language with Swedish and Finnish national identities is also examined.

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Author-supplied Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Author-supplied Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Author-supplied Abstracts.)

The article provides a bibliography of sociolinguistics essays and monographs on language published in Europe in 2011 including "Tra napoletano e siciliano? Randbemerkungen zur Metaphonie im Dialekt der äolischen Inseln," by Roland Bauer, "Sprachen für Europa," by Peter Cichon, and "Ausgrenzung durch Sprache," by Rudolf de Cillia.

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Author-supplied Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Author-supplied Abstracts.)

The article discusses research on multilingual workplaces in Luxembourg, including a review of the history and theory of sociolinguistic workplace research and a description of a study of audio recordings of supermarket employees. The relationship between interpersonal relations and language, ethnographic observations, and communication between a native French speaker and a Luxembourgish speaker are discussed. German language speakers, work environments, and language comprehension are discussed, as well as possible solutions for communication problems.

A list of sociolinguistics research books and articles is presented including "Sprache/n und Identität/ en in Österreich," by Rudolf de Cillia, "The Language Impact. Evolution – System – Discourse," by Alwin F. Fill, and "Zur Rhetorik von Barack Obama," by Manfred Kienpointner.

A case study is presented which explores the relationship between language, religious affiliation, and ethnic affiliation in the Latgalian part of Latvia based on data from the Centre d'Etudes Linguistiques pour l'Europe (CELE) and Survey Latgale, a sociolinguistic survey conducted by the higher education institute Rezeknes Augstskola. Details are provided on Latvia's historical, geographical, and linguistic background as well as the influence of Catholicism and mysticism in Latgale.

A bibliography of books and articles on sociolinguistics is presented, including the books "Didaktik für eine gelebte Mehrsprachigkeit," edited by Peter Cichon and Ludmila Cichon, "Plurilinguismo, multiculturalismo e apprendimento delle lingue: Confronto tra Giappone e Italia," edited by Silvana Ferreri, and "Språkvård och språkpolitik: Svenska språknämndens forskningskonferens i Saltsjöbaden 2008," edited by Lars-Gunnar Andersson, Olle Josephson, and Mats Thelander, volume 11 in the book series Språkrådets skrifter.

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses several reports from the issue related to language and religion as a sociolinguistic field of study.

DRUVIETE, INA: The Latvian language: Official language of the Republic of Latvia and official language of the European Union. BOGOCZOVÁ, IRENA/ RADKOVÁ, LUCIE: Jazykovy deficit a jazyková kreativita: P ^G ísp C vek do vyzkumu jazykové kompetence bilingvních a diglosních jedinc ^H [Language deficiency and language creativity: A contribution to the research on language competence in bilingual and diglossic individuals]. The issues dealt with in the Review range from aspects of the linguistic and communicative competence of the individual such as bilingualism and multilingualism, fi rst or second language acquisition, literacy, language disorders, to language and communication related problems in and between societies such as linguistic discrimination, language confl ict, communication in the workplace, language policy and language planning, and language ideology. HOEKSTRA, ERIC/ SLOFSTRA, BOUKE: How majority languages influence minority languages: the linguistic mechanisms and some consequences for language maintenance through education. [Extracted from the article]

A bibliography is presented of sociolinguistic works published in European countries in 2007, including "Code Choice and Face," by Eva Lavric, "Transnationale Germanistik," Konrad Ehlich, and "Spanish and Other Languages of Spain," by Miquel Siguan.

The article presents a study of the languages used in companies of all sizes in Brussels, Belgium. Following an overview of the geographic position of Belgium in Europe and the role that the European Union plays in the economic life of the city, the authors present information taken from surveys of companies based in Brussels. The study found that most companies use French as a sort of lingua franca in internal communication. This is based on the fact that over 90% of the population of Brussels speaks French and that the European Union uses French as a major working language. However, other languages such as Dutch, English, Italian, Korean, German and Spanish were reportedly used by companies in external communications.

The article discusses the choice of corporate language and language management strategies in Danish multinational companies in an age of globalization. Corporate communication policies relating to non-Danish language prowess are reviewed, as are the importance of English in corporate communications such as email and follow-ups to meetings and presentations, and printed corporate communications for partners, shareholders, and employees. Also looked at are company strategies involving translators, localization, and internal corporate language training.

A bibliography of European sociolinguistics books from 2006 is presented, including "Gelebte Mehrsprachigkeit. Akten des Wiener Koloquiums zur individuellen und sozialen Mehrsprachigkeit," edited by Peter Cichon, "Valéncia im Sprachenstreit. Sprachlicher Sezessionismus als sozialpsychologisches Phänomen," by Max Doppelbauer, and "Linguistic awareness in multilinugals: English as a third language," by Ulrike Jessner.

The article presents information about language attitudes and behavior regarding regional languages in France. Languages under discussion include Occitan and Catalan. Topics addressed include the relations between language use and self-perception, as well as group identity within speech communities. A history of Occitan revivalist movements is given, and research results are presented from a study of language attitudes in Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Survey questions and responses are provided, which discuss the voluntary learning of regional languages, immersion language teaching, and French government policy for regional language.

The article presents information about sociolinguistic research treating the presence, influence, and revival of regional languages in Italy in the early 21st century. Research results about the use of dialect in various generations are presented, including notes on dialect insertions to introduce direct quotes, the use of dialect to communicate humor or politeness, and the presence of dialects or regional languages in comics. Accents, regional languages, and dialects treated include Südtirolerisch, Piedmontese, and Walser German. The relations between German and Italian in northeastern parts of Italy are also discussed.

The article presents information about relations between multilingualism and speakers of both standard language and dialects. Dialect-standard competency is discussed in terms of its presence in German areas of Switzerland. It is described as a form of bilingualism in two related languages or language varieties, often found in children who absorb both the standard language and its regional dialect during their speech-learning process. Results are included from a study seeking to determine whether inhabitants of provincial areas with dialect-standard competency more easily learn foreign languages than speakers of pure standard language or pure dialect.

The article discusses the relations between ethnicity, friendship groups, and the English spoken by young working class people in London, England. It is noted that London has historically attracted many immigrants, and that the London working-class accent is a significant influence on the pronunciation of English in other parts of the world. Topics of discussion include linguistic innovation, generational differences among English speakers in London, and diphthong changes in late 20th century London English. Various phrases that adolescents use to introduce direct quotes are compared, and the social aspects of shifting linguistic patterns are assessed.

A bibliography is presented. Titles include "Rechtsangleichung der EU-Beitrittskandidaten. Probleme der juristischen Übersetzung - Empirie und mögliche Lösungen am Beispiel Bulgarians," by Violina Andreeva; "Aproposito di una nuova testualità - osservazioni semiotiche e linguistiche sulla base dei tei multimodali nella stampa odierna," by Gudrun Held; and "Réflexions sur le contexte social de la création littéraire récente en langue dominée, surtout en occitan," by Georg Kremnitz.

This article discusses the role of English in the European Parliament. The author describes how the more democratic role that Europe has embraced has advanced the role of languages at the national level, but has some trouble balancing all twenty-three official languages at the "supranational" level. The members of parliament must face this difficulty, and the author presents their experiences. The experiences that native English and French speakers have formed into two categories of those that are pedantically monolingual, and those who try to engage with members of other languages. Members from other European Union countries and their competencies in English and other foreign languages are presented.

This article discusses the language requirements for European Union (EU) accession and their impact on the Czech Republic. The author discusses the fulfillment of the "Copenhagen" requirements, which ask that prospective entrants to the EU to maintain a stable democracy, the rule of law and to implement a human rights policy and protect minorities. The author writes that these requirements definitely had an impact on the language planning and policy of the Czech Republic, which it previously had little interest in maintaining, due to the social history of the country. The author presents a demographic breakdown of language in the country, the structure of the Czech language and the minority languages in the country. The influence of these policies have extended to the foreign language learning options offered within the country.

This article discusses the problems facing the multilingual European Union (EU) during parliamentary procedures. The author writes that since there are twenty-seven member countries with twenty-three languages representing them, there have been many debates concerning which language would represent them all. Though there have been efforts to maintain the diversity of languages, English has still dominated the proceedings. The author discusses the impact of EU expansion on language, the current pattern of languages in the EU and the fluctuation of power between the language groups.