Language use in a multilingual urban environment. A comparative view of economic, educational and migration aspects.

Project Details

Description

One of the most important results of the general survey on Brussels was the fact that the importance of the official languages, whether Dutch or French, can no longer be derived from the number of native speakers and the political power relations in the city. One of the main driving force behind the determination of the value of a language is the economy. For English it is obvious, the importance of this language does not depend on the number of its native speakers living in the area, but also for other languages its economic value is contributory in a multilingual environment. In this project three parts can be discerned: a sociolinguistic view on the impact of globalisation and the economy in a multilingual Brussels; education in a multilingual urban environment and the inherent phenomenon of crossing linguistic boundaries; and finally the effect of the process of labour migration on language use in Brussels. Within these three parts, special attention will be paid to the role of the Dutch language as an official but minority language and to comparability with similar evolutions in other multilingual cities. (contact: Rudi Janssens)

AcronymGOA25
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/01/0331/12/07

Keywords

  • language

Flemish discipline codes in use since 2023

  • Languages and literary studies

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