Minority Languages in Europe and Beyond - Results and Prospects

Experts on language planning, cultivation and maintenance focus here on the safeguarding measures suggested for European lesser-used-languages as formulated in the 1992 EU Charter. EUROLINGUISTICS WEST: the minority situation of the Goidelic minority languages are described by Máthuna (New Irish), Broderick, Lewin (Manx Gaelic) and MacKinnon (Scottish Gaelic);their maintenance, survival and revival are of great concern. EUROLINGUISTICS NORTH: Hjelde describes the rise and spread of Nynorsk in Norway and North America, after which Weinstock discusses the survival and maintenance of the Sámi language varieties in northern Scandinavia and northern Russia. EUROLINGUISTICS SOUTH: the survival and protection of Alsatian German is discussed in detail by Klein, stressing the importance of maintaining the Alsatian dialects for the future as does Begioni describing Italian dialects in contact with Standard Italian. EUROLINGUISTICS CENTRE: the recent standardization and acceptance of Rumantsch Grischun in Kanton Grisons, Switzerland, is described by Cathomas and a similar attempt of standardization of Ladin Dolomitan, South Tyrol, is described here by R. Videsott. These two attempts contrast sharply with the demise and death of Esseker Deutsch, the urban dialect of Ossijek, Croatia, described by Kortic. Furthermore, Socanac gives the reader a survey of language policy in the Habsburg Monarchy with reference to major and minor languages in Croatia. EUROLINGUISTICS EAST: Iamshanova compares the language policy in the former Soviet Union after 1917 and the Russian Federation after 1992. EUROLEXICOGRAPHY and GLOBAL FIGURATIVE PHRASEOLOGY: Merolle and Piirainen present a vivid picture of a new approach.