Abstract
The aim of this paper is to show that the current discourse on languages, constructed as meaningful for Europe’s establishment and maintenance as a geopolitical unit, is just the latest round in a much longer debate on managing the diversity of languages taking place within the Council of Europe. From a critical sociolinguistic perspective, this paper analyzes the debate on the “Establishment of a European linguistic community based on the application of Anglo-French bilingualism” that took place in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1953. This paper examines the emerging ideologies on Europe in the postwar period and their interrelation with state ideologies through the lens of language ideologies. I show the operationalization of languages as an instrument for reconciliation, for establishing a European (linguistic) community, and for positioning it in the postwar context. I highlight the terrains on which the opposition and alternative(s) to this conception were constructed. Finally, I discuss to what extent this language ideological debate has inflected the development of the Council of Europe’s current discourse on plurilingualism.
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