The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been in force since 1998, but in France it has caused a heated debate and it has not been ratified. The questions raised include: should French regional languages be afforded protection? Is there a danger that their protection could lead to an assertion of regional identity that could threaten the cohesiveness of the state? Is there a threat to the official language? Can applying the principles of the charter, without going through the ratification process, effectively protect regional or minority languages? This colloquy sought to provide answers to these questions.

The Charter is the only European legal instrument specifically designed to protect and promote regional or minority languages, making it the legal reference framework throughout Europe. This publication sets out an article by article commentary on the charter by one of Europe's leading experts on regional or minority languages, in order to explain the control mechanism's conclusions and to enable critical assessment of them.

'Basic Documents on Human Rights' provides a collection of key documents and covers all elements of the subject. It is an account of the most important instruments adopted by the UN, its agencies, regional organizations and other actors.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages protects and promotes traditionally used regional or minority languages in Europe.This volume provides an in-depth analysis of the provisions of the Charter in light of the monitoring work done by the Committee of Experts since 2001. An article-by-article commentary by legal experts examines the meaning and implications of the provisions of the Charter and studies best practice and shortcomings in its implementation by states parties.

Race and racism have become huge areas of study in the social sciences over the past two decades. However, whilst this has been reflected in the growing body of theoretical and empirically based work, surprisingly little has been published that explores the methodological and practical issues involved in researching race. In Researching Race and Racism Martin Bulmer and John Solomos have brought together contributions from some of the leading researchers in the field, using the benefit of their experience to explore the practical and ethical issues involved in doing research in this sometimes controversial, often heavily politicised field. This book will provide students and researchers - both new to the field and experienced alike - with an invaluable tool to help them find their way.

This analysis of language policy on Corsica provides the first study of the three levels of language policy existing on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. It focuses on the key participants - the State, the language activists and the islanders - in the language debate that has taken place across the island since its purchase by France. This book is informed by recent work on language planning, both theoretical and relating to specific case studies. At the same time, it engages with trends in sociolinguistics over the past decades, which have included language planning in their investigations of languages in contact, language obsolescence and language death. A central premise of this book is that the three discrete categories of participants in the language debate are closely interrelated and that the status and position of Corsican in relation to French cannot be understood without a thorough exploration of these three strands. This volume will appeal to researchers and students in French Studies, sociolinguistics, and especially language policy.

This book considers the contemporary challenge of government in multicultural societies.