Language Rights and the Law in the European Union

“The strength of Language Rights and the Law in the European Union is that the author challenges a range of conventional wisdoms and even conventions regarding the legal position of minority languages in the European Union, convincingly presenting the case that language justice is not yet achieved for citizens who speak traditional EU minority languages. Apart from possibly sparking off some controversy in certain circles, Language Rights and the Law in the European Union most definitely will stimulate further research on the quest for language justice for all who dwell on European soil.” –Theodorus du Plessis, University of the Free State, South Africa.

This book examines the language policies relating to linguistic rights in European Union law and in the constitutions and legal statutes of some European Union member states. In recent years, the European Union has seen an increase in claims for language recognition by minority groups representing a considerable population (such as Catalan in Spain and Welsh in the UK). Additionally, there is a developing situation surrounding the official use of English within the European Union in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. In light of these two contexts, this book focuses on the degree of legal protection afforded to linguistic groups in the European Union. It will be of interest to students and scholars of language policy, EU law, minority languages and sociolinguistics. 
Eduardo D. Faingold is Professor of Spanish and linguistics at the University of Tulsa, USA.