L. Marácz

Introduction to the special section: minority politics and the territoriality principle in Europe

Territorial arrangements for managing inter-ethnic relations within states are far from consensual. Although self-governance for minorities is commonly advocated, international documents are ambiguously formulated. Conflicting pairs of principles, territoriality vs. personality, and self-determination vs. territorial integrity, along with diverging state interests account for this gap. Together, the articles in this special section address the territoriality principle and its hardly operative practice on the ground, with particular attention to European cases. An additional theme reveals itself in the articles: the ambiguity of minority recognition politics. This introductory article briefly presents these two common themes, followed by an outline of three recent proposals discussed especially in Eastern Europe that seek to bypass the controversial territorial autonomy model: cultural rights in municipalities with a “substantial” proportion of minority members; the cultural autonomy model; and European regionalism and multi-level governance.

Prospects on Hungarian as a Regional Official Language and Szeklerland's Territorial Autonomy in Romania

This article analyses two options the Hungarian ethno-linguistic community in the Transylvanian region of Romania has in order to preserve its ethno-linguistic identity. Firstly, there is the option of unrestricted language use in the public domain. At present the Romanian legal framework assigns members of the Hungarian speaking community in Transylvania individual linguistic and cultural rights only. The Romanian language policy is further restricted by a threshold rule. The ratio of minority must number 20 per cent of the total inhabitants of a certain administrative-territorial unit in order to have their language recognised officially. The second possibility is that historical territories where Transylvanian Hungarians statistically form a dominant majority (i.e. Szeklerland) are granted territorial autonomy. The territoriality principle would secure linguistic minority rights. We will conclude that the prospects for Hungarian as a regional language in Romania are more realistic than the recognition of Szeklerland’s territorial autonomy.

Regulatory Environment, Linguistic Inequalities, and New Opportunities for Hungarian Minority Interest Representation in Romania

In an interdisciplinary approach, the study discusses the legal and socioeconomic aspects of Hungarian minority language use in the northwestern part of Romania, Transylvania. It presents traditional and innovative models of language activism in the region and discusses how supranational rules and market deregulation that followed the EU membership of the country opened up new possibilities for a “grassroots,” spontaneous expansion of multilingualism in the economy and in society in general.

Why Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication Jeopardize a Common Social Policy for Europe

Abstract This paper studies the consequences of European multilingualism and multilingual communication for a common social policy in the Europe Union. In the past fifty years, the main focus of the Europeanization project has been on financial-economic developments and less on a common social policy. Even today, there is no common framework for social protection in the European Union. Common minimum income or wages for European citizens are lacking. In this paper, it will be argued that the lack of social protection has to do with Europe’s linguistic diversity. Language is seen as a building block of national communities and their political cultures. The European integration project can only continue if different European political cultures are shared. However, due to the fact that a neutral lingua franca is lacking, this has been unsuccessful so far. The interaction of social groups that have a different language repertoire with the structures of multilevel governance are responsible for the fact that some of these social groups, including the ‘Eurostars’, and national cosmopolitans benefit from social protection, whereas other groups lacking relevant language skills, such as anti-establishment forces, commoners, and migrants, are excluded from the European power domains. These power configurations can be fruitfully studied in the floral figuration model. Consequently, due to these patterns of inclusion and exclusion, true solidarity among European citizens is not within reach. These claims will be illustrated by a case study on the Netherlands, a country that has been pursuing neoliberal policies counterbalancing Eurozone and economic crises and is trying to assimilate migrants and other newcomers. Apart from assimilatory policies targeting migrants, language games used by competing forces are playing an important role in the discourse in order to set up power structures.

Power and Multilingualism: The Case of the Hungarian linguistic Minority in Romania

In this paper, I will discuss the position of the Hungarian minority and language in the Romanian region called Transylvania. Transylvania is a traditional multi-ethnic region where several languages are spoken. The Hungarian language is a minority language compared to the official language of the country, Romanian. The Transylvanian case is important for the study of the relation between power, hegemony and multilingualism. Important features that give insight into this relation include the Romanian Constitution and legal system, the threshold rule for the Hungarian language based on collective and territorial properties, and multilingual institutions. The conclusion is that equality of languages in a multilingual context with majority-minority languages is far from realized. The majority language takes power over the minority language with the help of the states institutions.

Language policy and political economy: English in a global context

one that rejects essentialism and is not closely associated with anglophone cultures. The emergent nature of cultural identities is also stressed once again. ELF research is seen to challenge the traditional notion of communicative competence, indicating the importance of ‘pragmatic and interactional competence demonstrated by successful intercultural communication’ (241). The critical and fluid attributes of ICA have important implications for English language teaching from a postnormative perspective. Baker’s book focuses more on theoretical knowledge and construction, and – although one chapter does deal with implications for language teaching – practitioners might find it difficult to fully implement his model if they do not view intercultural communication from a poststructuralist perspective. In any event, the book constitutes a successful attempt to address the issue of intercultural communication in an ELF paradigm, and it will be interesting to see if the model it presents can or will be applied in other settings.

Language policy and political economy: English in a global context: edited by Thomas Ricento

one that rejects essentialism and is not closely associated with anglophone cultures. The emergent nature of cultural identities is also stressed once again. ELF research is seen to challenge the traditional notion of communicative competence, indicating the importance of ‘pragmatic and interactional competence demonstrated by successful intercultural communication’ (241). The critical and fluid attributes of ICA have important implications for English language teaching from a postnormative perspective. Baker’s book focuses more on theoretical knowledge and construction, and – although one chapter does deal with implications for language teaching – practitioners might find it difficult to fully implement his model if they do not view intercultural communication from a poststructuralist perspective. In any event, the book constitutes a successful attempt to address the issue of intercultural communication in an ELF paradigm, and it will be interesting to see if the model it presents can or will be applied in other settings.

Language policy and political economy: English in a global context [Review of: T. Ricento (2015) Language policy and political economy: English in a global context]

one that rejects essentialism and is not closely associated with anglophone cultures. The emergent nature of cultural identities is also stressed once again. ELF research is seen to challenge the traditional notion of communicative competence, indicating the importance of ‘pragmatic and interactional competence demonstrated by successful intercultural communication’ (241). The critical and fluid attributes of ICA have important implications for English language teaching from a postnormative perspective. Baker’s book focuses more on theoretical knowledge and construction, and – although one chapter does deal with implications for language teaching – practitioners might find it difficult to fully implement his model if they do not view intercultural communication from a poststructuralist perspective. In any event, the book constitutes a successful attempt to address the issue of intercultural communication in an ELF paradigm, and it will be interesting to see if the model it presents can or will be applied in other settings.

Does Global English Support the Development of Social Europe

Abstract The relevance of languages and multilingual communication for social policy and solidarity in the context of the nation-state has generally been recognized. However, in the context of Europeanization, this factor has been underestimated and neglected in scientific research. This paper argues that languages and multilingual communication are relevant for the design of Social Europe. In order to support this hypothesis, the paper relies on an analytical tool, the so-called floral figuration model proposed by De Swaan (1988). This model allows us to isolate social and linguistic actors and track down complex patterns of linguistic and communicative exclusion in Europe’s system of multilevel governance. These patterns also refer to international or global English or its technically adapted Brussels variety, ‘Euro-English’. From this, also follows that these patterns of linguistic and communicative exclusion must be rendered into inclusive ones before a European social policy can be realized.

POWER AND MULTILINGUALISM: THE CASE OF THE HUNGARIAN LINGUISTIC MINORITY IN ROMANIA

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