Linguistic Diversity and Plurality in Europe

Abstract

Linguistic diversity and plurality in Europe have been predominantly shaped by the historical forces of nation‐building and colonialism, forces which overlap and coexist in important ways. In addition to covering these processes, this entry covers migration and globalization in the postcolonial context. The first section deals with projects and processes of nation‐building and their effects upon linguistic diversity in Europe. The second section deals with the effects of colonialism and postcolonialism on patterns of migration and, relatedly, the formation of immigrant heritage languages in Europe. The third section deals with globalization, partly construed as an extension of migration and postcolonialism, which contributes to new phenomena of linguistic diversity including crossing, language mixing, and so‐called “superdiversity.”