This book discusses the historical record of the idea that language is associated with national identity, demonstrating that different applications of this idea have consistently produced certain types of results. Nationalist movements aimed at ‘unification’, based upon languages which vary greatly at the spoken level, e.g. German, Italian, Pan-Turkish and Arabic, have been associated with aggression, fascism and genocide, while those based upon relatively homogeneous spoken languages, e.g. Czech, Norwegian and Ukrainian, have resulted in national liberation and international stability. It is also shown that religion can be more important to national identity than language, but only for religious groups which were understood in premodern times to be national rather than universal or doctrinal, e.g. Jews, Armenians, Maronites, Serbs, Dutch and English; this is demonstrated with discussions of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the civil war in Lebanon and the breakup of Yugoslavia, the United Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

This volume collects the interventions of the post-doctoral fellows and PhD students of the University of Cluj Napoca, the University of Bucharest and the University of Florence (Mediterranean Cultures; Doctoral School of Comparative Languages, Literatures and Cultures, specialisation in Language, Literature, Philology: Intercultural Perspectives) presented in occasion of the seminar Storia, identità e canoni letterari (“History, identity and literary canons”, Florence, 22-23 November 2011). The contributions are centred on the idea of canon, as a cultural construct founding modern national identities. Another trace is the literary and cultural hybridisations between different geographies. For the Romanian context, the contributions pay particular attention to the movements of the avant-garde of the early 1900s. Some contributions account for the most problematic aspects of the contemporary world using interdisciplinary approaches.

This text draws attention to a neglected topic in the study of religions and migrant groups: the Sikhs in Europe. The book provides empirical data and theoretical analyses of Sikhs in 11 European countries.

Sborník vybraných příspěvků z 19. až 23. ročníku Mezinárodního setkání mladých lingvistů má název Jazyky v pohybu a potenciál změny. Tímto titulem jsou avizována témata, jež rezonovala mezi mladší generací lingvistů v letech 2018 až 2022 a jež jim byla inspirací k výzkumu a zpracování. 21. století je přitom vnímáno jako věk pohybu, kde nezbytným instrumentem je právě jazyk. Ten je nucen překračovat hranice mezi etnickými, kulturními a sociálními skupinami a vstřebávat přitom z okolního světa nové a nové intralingvistické i extralingvistické impulsy. Sborníkové příspěvky se týkají nejen tohoto hlavního tématu, ale i témat dalších, zpracovávaných a roz víjených v jednotlivých workshopech, např. v již tradičním workshopu diachronním, workshopu věnovaném češtině jako cizímu jazyku nebo ve workshopu kognitivním, mediálním, translatologickém či interkulturní komunikace. The proceedings of selected papers from the 19th to 23rd International Meeting of Young Linguists are entitled Languages in Motion and the Potential for Change. This title announces the themes that have resonated among the younger generation of linguists between 2018 and 2022 and that have inspired them to research and elaborate. It is forced to cross boundaries between ethnic, cultural and social groups, absorbing new and new intralinguistic and extralinguistic impulses from the outside world. The contributions in the proceedings cover not only this main topic, but also other topics, elaborated and developed in individual workshops, e.g. in the traditional diachronic workshop, the workshop devoted to Czech as a foreign language, or in the cognitive, media, translatological or intercultural communication workshops.

Open publication> The Languages and Linguistics ofEurope: A Comprehensive Guideis part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of the continents of the world. The book supplies profiles of the language families of Europe, including the sign languages. It also discusses the areal typology, paying attention to the Standard Average European, Balkan, Baltic and Mediterranean convergence areas. Separate chapters deal with the old and new minority languages and with non-standard varieties. A major focus is language politics and policies, including discussions of the special status of English, the relation between language and the church, language and the school, and standardization. The history of European linguistics is another focus as is the history of multilingual European 'empires' and their dissolution. The volume is especially geared towards a graduate and advanced undergraduatereadership. It has been designed such that it can be used, as a whole or in parts, as a textbook, the first of its kind, for graduate programmes with a focus on the linguistic (and linguistics) landscape of Europe.

This is a history of Europe unlike any other: a theory-informed history of its language use. The 'rise' and 'fall' of languages are recounted, along with an analysis of why periods of linguistic diversity are followed by hegemony. How did the sociolinguistic past differ from the sociolinguistic present?

Has multiculturalism failed? Is it time to move on? What is the alternative? Ali Rattansi explores the issues, from national identity and social cohesion to cultural fragmentation and 'political correctness'. Providing a balanced assessment of the truth and falsity of the charges against multiculturalism, he explores new ideas for the future. Multiculturalism appears to be in terminal crisis. It has been blamed for undermining national identity, diluting social cohesion, creating ethnic ghettos and cultural fragmentation, providing fertile ground for Islamic radicalism, encouraging perverse 'political correctness', and restricting liberal freedoms of expression, amongst other things. The public debate over multiculturalism has polarised opinion amongst the general public, policy makers, and politicians. But how much real evidence, beyond tabloid headlines and anecdotes, exists for these claims? In this Very Short Introduction, Ali Rattansi considers the actual evidence from social science research to provide a balanced assessment of the truth and falsity of the charges against multiculturalism. Dispelling many myths in the process, he also warns about the dangers that lurk in an uncritical endorsement of multiculturalism, and concludes by arguing that it is time to move on to a form of 'interculturalism'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Focusing on Egypt's largest religious minority group, the Coptic Orthodox Christians, this book explores how national, ethnic and religious expressions of identity are interwoven in the narratives and usage of the press and Internet. It also offers insights into two of modern Egypt's biggest political challenges: preventing sectarian conflict and managing the relationship between religion and politics.

Capturing the dynamism of Canadian language policies, the essays in this volume analyze and compare the effects, histories, and features of language policies as they have been enacted and implemented by Canadian provincial and federal governments. The contributors' comparisons reveal significant domestic and international implications for language policy. An important study of a social and political issue that has immediate local, national, and international consequences, Canadian Language Policies in Comparative Perspective assembles knowledgeable authorities on language policy to provide a comprehensive synthesis of its consequences.

In the European tradition, parliaments are central political institutions that play a crucial role in the development of democratic societies. No other institution regularly offers a public arena for open deliberation and dissent, for discussing opposite points of view and for reaching compromise solutions between political adversaries. However, in spite of the growing visibility of modern parliaments, the study of parliamentary language use, interaction practices and discourse strategies has long been under-researched. Based on extensive parliamentary data, this book integrates a rich variety of innovative analytical approaches that explore the far-reaching impacts of parliamentary practices and linguistic strategies on current political action and interaction. Individual chapters problematise and re-evaluate the discourse-shaped identities and roles of Members of Parliament, the structure and functions of parliamentary discourse genres, interpersonal behaviour and intertextual meaning co-construction in post-Communist parliaments. They offer broad cross-cultural perspectives on parliamentary discursive psychology and argumentation. The book provides essential reading for scholars and students of language and linguistics, rhetoric, political and social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in language and politics.