Mercator Network PictureMercator Network PictureMercator Network PictureMercator Network PictureMercator Network PictureMercator Network Picture

"European Commission let down national & linguistic minorities"

The European Commission (EC) will not propose new laws in response to the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, the petition demanding a protection package for national minorities that garnered 1.1 million signatures across the EU. Initiator FUEN (Federal Union of European Nationalities) is deeply disappointed and stated that "the European Commission has turned its back on national and linguistic minorities." On January 21st, FUEN published an open letter to the president of the EC, Mrs Von der Leyen, to convey the strong disappointment of the Citizens' Committee. The Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) published a public statement and asks the EC to reconsider its position. It goes without saying that the Mercator Network is also deeply disappointed by the European Commission's decision and supports the actions of both FUEN and NPLD.

Read more

Mercator Network Picture

UK & DE extend protection of minority languages

The United Kingdom and Germany have extended the protection they accord to minority languages under the Council of Europe’s Language Charter (ECRML). This is the first time since 2008 that State Parties have accepted additional undertakings under this treaty.

Read more

 
Mercator Network Picture

First Irish hearing in European Court of Justice

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held a hearing in the Irish language. The case centred on an Irish language activist’s complaint that the Irish government had failed to implement EU rules requiring labelling on veterinary products to be in Irish and English.

Read more

International comparative research on intangible heritage

The Chair of Frisian Language and Literature at the University of Groningen has been awarded a JP ICH 2020 grant (Horizon 2020) for international comparative research on intangible heritage: 'Revoicing Cultural Landscapes: narratives, perspectives, and performances of marginalised Intangible Cultural Heritage' (RCL-ICH). This project is part of an international collaboration with universities in Great Britain (Falmouth University, Cornwall), Latvia (University of Latvia) and Estonia (University of Tartu). Subject of Revoicing Cultural Landscapes is the question of how newcomers in a certain region appreciate traditional intangible heritage and learn to use it as a common local value. The Mercator European Research Centre is one of the associated partners.

Mercator Network Picture

Articles on European Minority Language Media

The European Minority Language Media and Journalism Research group have made possible two new studies: 'Economy and funding of European minority language media: Reality and impact of digitalization and economic crisis' by I. Zabaleta and N. Xamardo, and 'Facts and transformations in European minority language media systems amid digitalization and economic crisis' by I. Zabaleta, A. Gutierrez a.o.

Read more

 
Mercator Network Picture

FUEN condemns smearing bilingual town signs

The Federal Union of European Nationalities condemns the smearing on bilingual topographical signs in several localities in Carinthia/ Koroška. The smearing of Slovene designations on place-name signs has increased in the last weeks. FUEN Vice-President Angelika Mlinar, herself a Carinthian Slovene: "An attack on the Slovene language is an attack on the Slovene minority in Carinthia."

Read more

Discover Romanica

Video game 'Romanica' to discover the richness of Romance languages

Little Mix in Sign

Megg Rose signs Adele, Little Mix and more!

Mercator Network Picture

Elin Jones director Centre for Welsh and Celtic Studies

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is pleased to announce that Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones has been appointed Director of the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. For over twenty years, Professor Jones has led international research projects and directed the work of Mercator (Media), also home to Wales Literature Exchange and Literature Across Frontiers.

Read more

 
Mercator Network Picture

Parliament approves Bulgarian Sign Language

The second and final reading of the Bulgarian Sign Language Act has officially passed unanimously by the National Assembly. The law confers on people the right to 120 hours of free translation service per year. The sign language will be available to study in kindergartens and schools, and a special Sign Language Council will be set up at the Education Ministry.

Read more

Mercator Network Picture

Kebabnorsk: The Language of Urban Norway

Norway is famous for its dialects. In Oslo however, there is a way of speaking that is a little different: Kebabnorsk (kebab Norwegian) is a form of spoken Norwegian used by young people in East Oslo. It is a multiethnolect, which means that speakers mix the majority language with multiple other minority languages.

Read more

 
Mercator Network Picture

Call for Papers: Transmitting and revitalizing languages

The Institute of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences organises the international conference 'Conventional and unconventional ways of transmitting and revitalizing minoritized languages: in European context and beyond'. It takes place on 8-9th September, 2021; the Call for Papers deadline is on 31 March, 2021.

Read more

Language Education & Multilingualism: The Langscape Journal

The third volume of the peer-reviewed online journal 'Language Education and Multilingualism - The Langscape Journal', edited by The Langscape Network c/o Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is devoted to language teacher education and plurilingualism in digital learning environments. One of the twelve interesting articles in this edition is an introduction to the Erasmus+ project ENROPE, the European network for junior researchers in the field of plurilingualism and education. Recently, at 29 January, ENROPE partner İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa organised a succesful ENROPE-webinar to illustrate what the project is about. For those who are interested in joining the ENROPE family, please take a look at the upcoming ENROPE events: 15/16 March - Online Study Phase / 16 March - Webinar 'Towards Plurilingual Professional Identities' / 28 May - Webinar 'Professional Identity Development for Beginning Junior Researchers' and more. All events are free of charge!

INTERESTING EVENTS


2021, NEW DATES T.B.A., Zurich (Switzerland)
Symposium on Research Methods in Language Attitudes
Organised by the University of Zurich


2021, NEW DATES T.B.A., Valetta (Malta)
International Conference on Multilingualism and Multilingual Education 2020 (ICMME4)
Organised by the University of Malta.


ONLINE: 22 February 2021, online
Webinar: Immersion education model in bilingual communities
Organised by the NPLD.


ONLINE: 15 - 16 March 2021, Siegen (DE) and Leeuwarden (NL)
ENROPE Online Study Phase & Multiplier Event 'Towards Plurilingual Professional Identities'
Organised by the ENROPE consortium, hosted by the University of Siegen and the Mercator European Research Centre.


ONLINE: 18 - 19 March 2021, Bergen (Norway)
Multilingualism On My Mind 2021 (MOMM2021): Exploring Multilingualism in Education
Organised by the University of Bergen.


24 - 26 March 2021, Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain)
18th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML XVIII)
Organised by the University of the Basque Country.


5-7 May 2021, Murcia (Spain)
13th International GLAT Congress: Le monde connecté et les approches interculturelles: vers un nouveau paradigme des frontières ?
Organised by the University of Murcia


10 - 12 May 2021, Paris (France)
Minority languages spoken or signed and inclusive spaces
Organised by INSHEA.


26 - 28 May 2021, Zadar (Croatia)
New Contexts for the Use of Minoritized Languages/Varieties (NEWCON 2020)
Organised by the Linguistics Department of the University of Zadar,the SOAS World Languages Institute, Mercator European Research Centre and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation (CIDLes).


28 May 2021, Siegen (Germany)
ENROPE multiplier event: Professional Identity Development for Beginning Junior Researchers
Organised by by the ENROPE consortium, hosted by the University of Siegen.


June 2021, Groningen (Netherlands)
TABU - International linguistics conference
Organised by Center for Language and Cognition, University of Groningen.


ONLINE: 9 - 11 June 2021, Brighton (United Kingdom)
Approaches to Migration, Language & Identity 2021
Deadline call for papers: 15 February 2021.
Organised by University of Sussex.


30 June 2021 - 3 July 2021, Barcelona (Spain)
30th Conference of the European Second Language Association (EuroSLA)
Organised by University of Barcelona/ EuroSLA.


5 - 8 July 2021, Athens (Greece)
14th Annual International Conference on Languages & Linguistics
Hosted by the Athens Institute for Education and Research.


ONLINE: 10 - 14 July 2021, Warsaw (Poland)
International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB13)
Organised by the University of Warsaw.


15 - 20 August 2021, Groningen (the Netherlands)
AILA 2020: World Congress of Applied Linguistics
Organised by the University of Groningen, Multilingual Matters and others.


6 - 8 September 2021, Graz (Austria)
Language Teacher Psychology Conference 2021 (LTP)
Organised by the University of Graz.


8 - 9 September 2021, Warsaw (Poland))
Conference: Conventional and unconventional ways of transmitting and revitalizing minoritized languages: in European context and beyond
Organised by the Institute of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Science.


Please send us your comments and suggestions!

twitter link

Please add us to your contacts to ensure the newsletters land in your inbox.