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The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

  • Winner of the BAAL Book Prize 2020

  • Brings together contributions from specialists in sociolinguistics, policy studies, sociology, anthropology and law

  • Provides a thorough, international and wide-reaching appraisal of the field of minority languages and communities

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Table of contents (22 chapters)

  1. Minority Language Rights, Protection, Governance

  2. Recognition, Self-Determination, Autonomy

  3. Economics, Markets, Commodification

  4. Education, Literacy, Access

Keywords

About this book

This Handbook is an in-depth appraisal of the field of minority languages and communities today. It presents a wide-ranging, coherent picture of the main topics, with key contributions from international specialists in sociolinguistics, policy studies, sociology, anthropology and law. Individual chapters are grouped together in themes, covering regional, non-territorial and migratory language settings across the world. It is the essential reference work for specialist researchers, scholars in ancillary disciplines, research and coursework students, public agencies and anyone interested in language diversity, multilingualism and migration.





Reviews

“This is a serious collection that makes a very substantial and welcome contribution to the large literature on minority languages. I would imagine that it is more likely to find a place on the shelves of libraries than those of individual readers …” (Gibson Ferguson, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, June 23, 2019) “This Handbook is, quite simply, a tour de force. Offering far greater breadth, depth and analytical heft than ever before, the handbook extends the fields of minority language studies and multilingualism conceptually, disciplinarily, geographically, and pragmatically. It is sure to be a key reference for years to come.” (Stephen May, University of Auckland, New Zealand)

“This truly informative and expert Handbook offers detailed accounts of the history and contemporary context of minority language communities on every continent. The overall effect is a stunning testament to the resilience of minority language policy actors and community identities in the face of migration, mobility and globalizing forces in every corner of our world.” (Nancy H. Hornberger, University of Pennsylvania, USA)

“This is an outstanding collection of perspectives, analyses and views of the dynamic role of minority languages in the public life of communities all across the world.  The Handbook makes a signal contribution to practical understanding and intervention in legal, educational and policy fields. Expertly edited to produce coherence of focus and consistency of treatment, the Handbook as a whole and its individual chapters provide excellent coverage of a diverse range of settings across the world. It is clear from reading the volume that our ‘science’ of multilingual studies has been premised on too few cases, too few histories, and too narrow a range of experience. The Handbook is a consolidated resource that rewards regular reading and deep study.” (Joseph Lo Bianco, University of Melbourne, Australia)

Editors and Affiliations

  • School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Gabrielle Hogan-Brun

  • Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Bernadette O’Rourke

About the editors

Gabrielle Hogan-Brun is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK. She is founding editor of the book series Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities, and has published widely on language policy and practices in multilingual settings. Her most recent book is Linguanomics: What is the Market Potential of Multilingualism? (2017). A Salzburg Global Fellow, she has worked with various European organizations on aspects of language policy and economics. 


Bernadette O’Rourke is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Heriot-Watt University, UK. She has published work on the dynamics of multilingual societies, language policy and minority language communities. She holds a Fellowship at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and is currently exploring grassroots revitalization efforts in Galicia as part of its interdisciplinary research programme on Sustaining Minoritized Languages in Europe (SMiLE).



Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities

  • Editors: Gabrielle Hogan-Brun, Bernadette O’Rourke

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54066-9

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-54065-2Published: 22 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-54066-9Published: 11 December 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXI, 612

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Minority Languages, Sociolinguistics, Multilingualism, Language Policy and Planning, Language Change, Migration

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