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…

Examines the vitality perceptions of the Dutch and the Germans in the context of the progressive European unification with special emphasis on the relationship between subjective vitality perceptions and group identification. Results are discussed with reference to recent findings and developments in vitality theory as well as with regard to…

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…