McTyeire Fireside Chat
European Language Policy: Ideal, Reality, Mission
By Per Urlaub, Assistant Professor of German
Among the many public policy initiatives undertaken by the European Union and the Council of Europe, few are as contradictory as those that seek to manage Europe-s linguistic landscape. European language policies oscillate between on the one hand efforts to unify a linguistically diverse continent by defining official and working languages of administrative bodies (European Union), and on the other hand initiatives that seek to promote linguistic equity and diversity by recommending member states to offer a broad variety of languages in their educational systems (Council of Europe). I will argue that this policy cacophony results in an absence of a coherent continental approach to language planning. Individual member states fill this vacuum by calibrating their language policies according to national economic needs.
Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 7pm
McTyeire, Fireside Lounge
Campus community only
Contact: anja.bandas@vanderbilt.edu