Multilingualism and Language Policies across Europe

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Multilingualism and Language Policies across
Europe

• Gabrielle Hogan-Brun
• University of Bristol
• g.hogan-brun_at_bristol.ac.uk

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Approaches to multilingualism

• Elimination
• Tolerance
• Maintenance

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Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities

• Adopted by the Council of Europe in 1994
• came into force in 1998.
• The parties undertake to promote the conditions
• necessary for persons belonging to national
• minorities to maintain their culture and
  preserve
• their language.

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Changing ethnic composition in the Baltic States
from 1923 to 2000
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Individual multilingualisms
As a child I spoke Ukrainian and Polish with
my parents. We also used Yiddish. I went to a
Russian-medium school. Now I use Lithuanian
more often.
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My parents speak Polish. I grew up in a
Russian-medium school. Now I am studying in
Lithuanian at University. I dont know which is
my first language.
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Language policy aims across Baltic

• Encourage bilingualism
• secure socio-linguistic function of titular
  languages
• protect minority languages

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Competence of the titular languages amongst
minority representatives
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Models of education in the Baltic countries

• mainstream
• minority-medium
• bilingual
• (early and late) immersion

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Education Law (1998) Latvia

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• Language of Acquisition of Education (Article 9)
• (3) each educatee shall learn the official
  language and take examinations testing his or her
  knowledge of the official languageAmendment
• From 1 September 2004, acquisition of the study
  curriculum in the official language shall be
  effected according to the proportion of three
  fifths (60) of the total study load.

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Ethnic Composition of the Population of Latvia 
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The educational reform as reflected in the media

• Russian-medium press
• assimilating Latvianization
• moratorium on the reform (till 2007) defending
  secondary and higher education in Russian

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Anti-reform protest actions as reflected in the
media

• RETURN TO AGGRESSIVE PROTEST
• ACTIONS AGAINST EDUCATIONAL REFORM
  
• to vindicate disregard of Russian-speakers
  rights interests during last 13
  years(Headquarters for the Defence of
• Russian Schools)

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Russias comments on the reform

• Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (visiting)
• Everyone should be able to get education in
  the language given by God.
• Russian Foreign Affairs Minister The reform
  contradicts human rights ( the
• Latvian Constitution).

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Russias comments

• Deputy State Duma Chairman Vladimir Zhirinovsky
• Latvia will be destroyed empty spaces will
  be there if Latvians touch Russians and Russian
  schools (??????, 27 March 2004).

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Russian interests

• maltreatment of Russians in the geopolitical
  space of the former Soviet Union could be
  construed as grounds for Russian military
  intervention.
• Russias 1993 military doctrine.

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Managing multilingualism

• determining a working language management
  plan will depend on an appreciation of
• - the fruits of the developing sociolinguistic
  studies of the current linguistic ecology,
• - the attitudes and beliefs of the citizens,
• and on an honest appraisal of the major forces
  affecting the linguistic and socioeconomic
  environment.