Urban Diversities and Language Policies in Medium-Sized Linguistic Communities

Abstract

Urban Diversities and Language Policies in Medium-Sized Linguistic Communities Edited by Emili Boix-Fuster Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2015, 194 pages ISBN: 9-781783-093892 (paperback) In the edited volume, Urban diversities and language polities in medium-sized linguistic communities, the argument presented is that more attention should be paid to medium-sized linguistic communities (MSLCs) in urban cities and how they are coping with the pressures of an increasingly globalized world. In the preface to the edited collection of essays, the editor, Boix-Fuster, contends that there is a need to study MSLCs because language policy in urban areas has primarily focused on examining the struggles of majority and minority linguistic communities in the face of globalization. Boix-Fuster's edited volume contains only case studies of several European cities in which there are MSLCs. As Boix-Fuster and his colleagues argue, MSLCs are equally important to study because they also face pressures of being reduced to minority status due to the influence of globalization on language maintenance goals. Boix-Fuster's edited volume therefore deviates from the norm when studying the effects of globalization language maintenance, and as a result, offers unique insight into how medium-sized linguistic communities in Europe are navigating life in an increasingly globalized world. The origins of the Boix-Fuster's edited volume date back to conference on the challenges of urban areas in medium-sized linguistic communities held in September and October of 2010 at the University Centre for Sociolinguistics and Communication at the University of Barcelona. It was during the conference that all of the volume's contributors presented papers on their research concerning MSLCs. The majority of the contributors are professors and lecturers in language, communication, linguistics, education, sociology, and policy analysis across Europe. As a result of their diverse backgrounds and extensive experience researching MSLCs, the book will be of interest to a vast array of readers including social scientists, linguists, and geographers. The edited volume is divided into eight chapters. The first two chapters give the reader a baseline to understand the major issues surrounding MSLCs in the European context, especially where language policy is concerned. The first chapter, written by Extra, explores the criteria used to define MSLCs and presents six different European cases. In the chapter, Extra makes the argument that linguistic practices and goals at home and in educational institutions differ and that a hierarchical status system is developed within multilingual cities, where English always has a high status. In Chapter 2, Hambye delves into how policies can support and slow language development. This chapter focuses on the linguistic tensions between English, French, and Dutch in the historically Dutch city of Brussels and concludes that language laws have forced the Dutch language to serve two purposes in the community, that of a lingua franca and a source of symbolic value. The remaining chapters examine specific issues such as language and power, symbolic historical importance, bilingualism, and the importance of educational institutions in promoting language maintenance. …