Multilingualism in the Baltic States Societal Discourses and Contact Phenomena [Hardcover]

This edited collection provides an overview of linguistic diversity, societal discourses and interaction between majorities and minorities in the Baltic States. It presents a wide range of methods and research paradigms including folk linguistics, discourse analysis, narrative analyses, code alternation, ethnographic observations, language learning motivation, languages in education and language acquisition. Grouped thematically, its chapters examine regional varieties and minority languages (Latgalian, V?ro, urban dialects in Lithuania, Polish in Lithuania); the integration of the Russian language and its speakers; and the role of international languages like English in Baltic societies. The editors introductory and concluding chapters provide a comparative perspective that situates these issues within the particular history of the region and broader debates on language and nationalism at a time of both increased globalization and ethno-regionalism. This book will appeal in particular to students and scholars of multilingualism, sociolinguistics, language discourses and language policy, and provide a valuable resource for researchers focusing on Baltic States, Northern Europe and the post-Soviet world in the related fields of history, political science, sociology and anthropology. Chapter 1: Multilingualism, Language Contact and Majority-Minority Relations in Contemporary Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; Sanita LazdiFa and Heiko F. Marten.- Part I: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Language Policy, External Political Pressure and Internal Linguistic Change: the Particularity of the Baltic Case; Uldis Ozolins.- Part II: Regional Varieties and Minority Languages.- Chapter 3: Latgalian in Latvia: Laypersons Regards to Status and Processes of Revitalization; Sanita LazdiFa.- Chapter 4: Contested counting? What the Census and Schools Reveal about V?ro in Southeastern Estonia; Kara D. Brown and Kadri KorelӞ