CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE brings to students, researchers and practitioners in all of the social and language-related sciences carefully selected book-length publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings and applications. It approaches the study of language in society in its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches, theoretical and empirical, supplement and complement each other. The series invites the attention of linguists, language teachers of all interests, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians etc. to the development of the sociology of language.

EU Language Law gives a comprehensive account of all language regulations and arrangements which currently exist in EU law. First and foremost, the book covers the various explicit and implicit language regimes of EU institutions, bodies, and agencies, explaining how and why they came about. It explores numerous other EU language provisions in the area of freedom, security, and justice, relating to quite diverse topics, such as road traffic offenses, recognition of national court decisions, the European Arrest Warrant, and crime victims. It also discusses EU linguistic provisions in the internal market regarding product labeling or the language proficiency assessment of professionals, such as medical doctors or lawyers seeking to provide services in other EU Member States. Many other issues, such as language testing for newcomers in society and language proficiency requirements for employment, are investigated. The book highlights an often neglected yet tremendously important aspect of EU integration: the language issue. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO [Subject: European Law]

This book examines the language policies relating to linguistic rights in European Union law and in the constitutions and legal statutes of some European Union member states. In recent years, the European Union has seen an increase in claims for language recognition by minority groups representing a considerable population (such as Catalan in Spain and Welsh in the UK). Additionally, there is a developing situation surrounding the official use of English within the European Union in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. In light of these two contexts, this book focuses on the degree of legal protection afforded to linguistic groups in the European Union. It will be of interest to students and scholars of language policy, EU law, minority languages and sociolinguistics.

Language, while seemingly static, is dynamic and ever-changing, necessitating adaptability in various fields of language studies. It is especially true in a globalized world and an information age. In the field of language and its applications, it is essential to reconsider and redefine existing issues and envision how the changes may have impacts on human beings and on the entire globe. Redefining the Role of Language in a Globalized World is an essential scholarly publication that explores the role language will play in a globalized world and how language changes over time through its interdependent relationship with technology. Featuring a wide range of topics such as bilingualism, native speaker prejudice, and social inequality, this book is essential for educators, linguists, researchers, curriculum designers, academicians, policymakers, librarians, and students.

Multilingualism is an ever-present feature in political contexts around the world, including multilingual states and international organizations. Increasingly, consequential political decisions are negotiated between politicians who do not share a common native language. Nils Ringe uses the European Union to investigate how politicians’ reliance on shared foreign languages and translation services affects politics and policy-making. Ringe's research illustrates how multilingualism is an inherent and consequential feature of EU politics—that it depoliticizes policy-making by reducing its political nature and potential for conflict. An atmosphere with both foreign language use and a reliance on translation leads to communication that is simple, utilitarian, neutralized, and involves commonly shared phrases and expressions. Policymakers tend to disregard politically charged language and they are constrained in their ability to use vague or ambiguous language to gloss over disagreements by the need for consistency across languages.

English-Only Europe? explores the role of languages in the process of European integration. Languages are central to the development of an integrated Europe. The way in which the European Union deals with multilingualism has serious implications for both individual member countries and international relations. In this book, Robert Phillipson considers whether the contemporary expansion of English represents a serious threat to other European languages. After exploring the implications of current policies, Phillipson argues the case for more active language policies to safeguard a multilingual Europe. Drawing on examples of countries with explicit language policies such as Canada and South Africa, the book sets out Phillipson's vision of an inclusive language policy for Europe, and describes how it can be attained.

This volume offers an insider perspective on language policy in the EU, bringing together two key figures well acquainted with its development to reflect critically on the future of language policy and practices in post-Brexit Europe. Born out of Alice Leal’s English and Translation in the European Union, this volume features annotated interviews with Seán Ó Riain, newly appointed Multilingualism Officer by the Irish diplomatic service, whose decades of experience in key milestones in EU language policy offer a unique perspective on its development. Each chapter, bookended by a contextual introduction and a closing commentary by Leal, addresses such key questions as: How long can the EU keep linguistic and cultural spheres off the policy-making agenda? How has the ECRML impacted linguistic diversity in the region? How widespread is the dominance of English in EU institutions today and what impact does it have on EU multilingualism? Why is EU language policy not given the attention it warrants? What does the future of language policy hold in this post-Brexit era? Providing exclusive insights into EU language policy, this book will appeal to scholars in applied linguistics, translation studies, sociolinguistics, and political science, as well as stakeholders in language policy and planning.