This paper discusses contemporary societal roles of German in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania). Speaker and learner statistics and a summary of sociolinguistic research (Linguistic Landscapes, language learning motivation, language policies, international roles of languages) suggest that German has by far fewer speakers and functions…

In our article, we investigate the complex dynamics of linguistic understandings and mis- or non-understanding within multilingual contexts. Through the lens of sociolinguistic exploration, we navigate the multifaceted landscapes of language use, applying a multi-perspective approach and the triangulation method to explore the depths of linguistic…

The following article attempts to characterise the current changes in the communication of people living in the area of Polish-Czech borderland based on the results of the study conducted in 2018 and 2019. The aim is to determine the dominant mode of supranational communication, as well as the reason behind its prevalence by analysing the language…

A survey and examination of German as an official state language, a second language, a foreign language and a world language. Its functions and uses in home and international society, economy and politics are discussed. (Text is in German.) Available from Humanities Press, Inc., Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716 (TL)

Despite the fact that the twentieth-century ecumenical movement was coeval with the beginning of a "language revolution" and the "theology of crisis," it was only at the beginning of the present decade that the problem of unity in verbal formulations reached the agenda of the World Council of Churches (WCC). At that time the…

The 13 articles in this serial issue are as follows (with all titles translated into English); "Swiss Sociolinguistics--Sociolinguistics in Switzerland" (Iwar Werlen); "Public Space, Medias, and Identities of Language. Reference Points for an Analysis of the Swiss Imaginary Collective"; (Jean Widmer); "Anthropological and…

This paper examines efforts to save rapidly declining indigenous languages around the world. The entire process of language preservation and revitalization is a massive undertaking that requires immense long-term planning and support. These problems extend well beyond the linguistic concerns of the language itself. Language policy is inherently…