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Multilingualism and Language Policies across Europe

Gabrielle Hogan-Brun University of Bristol [email protected]

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3 Approaches to multilingualism

Elimination Tolerance Maintenance 2020/4/26

4 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities Adopted by the Council of Europe in 1994; came into force in 1998

. *********** ‘The parties undertake to promote the conditions necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain their culture and preserve […] their language’. 2020/4/26

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6 Changing ethnic composition in the Baltic States from 1923 to 2000 Estonia Estonians Russians Others Latvia Latvians Russians Others Lithuania Lithuanians Russians Polish Others

1923-34

92.4% 3.9% 3.7% 73.4% 10.6% 16% 84.2% 2.5% 3.2% 10.1%

1989

61.5% 30.3% 8.2% 52% 34% 14% 79.6% 9.4% 7% 4%

2000/1

67.9% 25.6% 6.5% 57.7% 29.6% 12.7% 83.45% 6.31% 6.74% 3.5%

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Individual multilingualisms 8

‘

As a child I spoke Ukrainian and Polish with my parents. We also used Yiddish. I went to a Russian-medium school. Now I use Lithuanian more often’.

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‘

My parents speak Polish. I grew up in a Russian-medium school. Now I am studying in Lithuanian at University. I don’t know which is my first language’.

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Language policy aims across Baltic

 Encourage bilingualism  secure socio-linguistic function of titular languages  protect minority languages 2020/4/26

11 Competence of the titular languages amongst minority representatives Estonia Latvia 1989: 2000: 67 % 62 % Lithuania 85 % 80 % 82 % 94 % Overall % of minority representatives 31

%

43

%

18

% 2020/4/26

12 Models of education in the Baltic countries

 mainstream  minority-medium  bilingual  (early and late) immersion 2020/4/26

Education Law (1998): Latvia 13 Language of Acquisition of Education (Article 9) (3) …each educatee shall learn the official language and take examinations testing his or her knowledge of the official language…

Amendment

From 1 September 2004, acquisition of the study

curriculum in the official language shall be effected according to the proportion of three fifths (=60%) of the total study load.

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14 Ethnic Composition of the Population of Latvia Latvians Russophones: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians Other: Poles, Lithuanians, Jew s, Estonians

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15 The educational reform as reflected in the media Russian-medium press



‘

assimilating Latvianization’ 

moratorium

on the reform (till 2007) defending secondary and higher education in Russian 2020/4/26

16 Anti-reform protest actions as reflected in the media

RETURN TO AGGRESSIVE PROTEST ACTIONS AGAINST EDUCATIONAL REFORM ************** …to vindicate disregard of Russian-speakers’ rights & interests during last 13 years…

(Headquarters for the Defence of Russian Schools) 2020/4/26

17 Russia’s comments on the reform

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (visiting): ‘Everyone should be able to get education in the language given by God’ . Russian Foreign Affairs Minister : ‘[The reform] contradicts human rights (& the Latvian Constitution).

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Russia’s comments… 18

Deputy State Duma Chairman Vladimir Zhirinovsky …Latvia will be destroyed […] empty spaces will be there if [Latvians] touch Russians and Russian schools ( Правда, 27 March 2004).

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Russian interests 19

[…] maltreatment of Russians in the ‘geopolitical space of the former Soviet Union’ could be construed as grounds for Russian military intervention.

Russia’s 1993 military doctrine.

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Managing multilingualism 20

[…] determining a working language management plan will depend on an appreciation of: - the fruits of the developing

sociolinguistic studies

of the current linguistic ecology, - the

attitudes

and

beliefs

of the citizens, and on an honest appraisal of the

major forces

affecting the linguistic and socioeconomic environment.

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