Language, Ethnicity, and the State: Minority Languages in the EU Ch1: Introduction: Minority Languages…in the EU By Camille C. O’Reilly

The changing political climate By end of 20th c, ethnicity & nationalism displaced class as defining political issues Culture, ethnicity, nation are key to modern identity politics, but they need to be defined

Ethnicity: a “natural” part of being human 1) Common proper name 2) Myth of common ancestry 3) Shared historical memories 4) Common culture, customs, or language 5) A homeland 6) Group solidarity

Three approaches to ethnicity Primordialist: –Ethnic identity is ancient, essential Instrumentalist: –Ethnic identity is a resource Constructivist: –Ethnic identity is a modern construct of social interaction All three have their advantages and disadvantages…

“State” and “Nation” State -- a contiguous demarcated territory within which all citizens are subject to same government Nation -- a state that is ethnically, culturally, and linguistically homogeneous –[note of disagreement -- there are nations that do not have states!] –Shared culture gives legitimacy to nation

Primordialist vs. Constructivist It is true that nationalism is a modern ideology motivated by industrialization It is also true that many ethnic groups can claim significant time depth

Gellner’s zones Zone 1: Atlantic coast (Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, London) -- uniform culture coincided with state in medieval times -- little change required to adjust to nationalism (except: Ireland) Zone 2: Holy Romany Empire (Germany, Italy) -- historic fragmentation made unification a pressing need -- strong destructive nationalism developed

The role of language As nationalism developed, language was seen as essential to unification of the state Some languages became the languages of state, others became minority languages Minority languages had no place in the ideology of “1 nation, 1 state, 1 language” and became stigmatized and disadvantaged

What dilemmas do minority languages face? In order to assert their rights and be economically viable, speakers of a minority language must learn and express themselves in the majority language By using a majority language, minority speakers are endangering their own language A minority will be lost if not strongly supported by the state, especially in the education system Minority languages add up to tens of millions in Europe

EU and multilingualism Member states identify strongly with their various state languages (thus EU monolingualism is impossible) Support of multilingualism is advantageous for minorities, but there has been little concrete action or support Little funding is available, and is spent mainly on multilingualism for the state languages

What problems are there with the Council of Europe Charter on Regional or Minority Languages? Not legally binding Does not define minority language, but sets standards according to European heritage, territory, and distinctiveness Gives no list of minority languages Just a set of priorities -- states can choose what they want to implement

Nationalism and Globalization Despite nationalistic pressures for homogeneity, multilingualism is on the rise “2 ± 1” – what does this stand for? –State language speakers also speak English –Minority language speakers speak state language + English

W vs. E Europe W Europe has moved on from homogenization, and now lays more focus on regional identity and linguistic diversity E Europe is still pursuing homogenization, with some destructive effects