As more nations become member states of the European Union (EU), policy makers have taken steps to ensure that national languages are preserved within a legal framework that confers official status. This introduction to the workings of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU in matters of linguistic diversity includes material on factual and theoretical approaches, the protection of linguistic diversity in EU law, and selected provisions on language issues from EU law. Topics include the development of tolerance for linguistic diversity in the EU, linguistic diversity as a necessary element of the union (however galling), principles of policy evaluation and their application to multilingualism, challenges implicit in the language policy, union citizenship and language rights, recent developments in minority language policy, the specifics of Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the protection of linguistic diversity, and the perception that minority languages constitute an linguistic and social underclass. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
After the accession of ten new member-states in 2004, the number of official EU languages increased from eleven to twenty. In 2005, the Council of the European Union decided to expand the existing legal framework for Irish and for other languages, such as Basque, Catalan and Galician, which are official in all or part of the territory of a given member-state. On 1 January 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, increasing the number of official EU languages still further. This book addresses the challenge of respecting linguistic diversity within the EU and is intended as an introduction to the issue for those not already familiar with EU law. It also provides an analysis of the potential of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to enhance respect for linguistic diversity. Each chapter has been written by a recognised expert in the field. The appendices bring together the basic legal norms relating to linguistic diversity within EU institutions.
