'Lesser-used' languages in historic Europe : models of change from the 16th to the 19th centuries
Abstract
This article charts and tries to explain the changing use of ‘minority’ languages in Europe between the end of the Middle Ages and the 19th century. This period saw the beginnings of a decline in the use of certain dialects and separate languages, notably Irish and Scottish Gaelic, although some tongues such as Catalan and Welsh remained widely used. The article develops some models of the relationship between language and its social, economic and political context. That relationship was mediated through the availability of printed literature; the political (including military) relations between areas where different languages or dialects were spoken; the nature and relative level of economic development (including urbanization); the policy of the providers of formal education and that of the church on religious instruction and worship; and, finally, local social structures and power relationships. The focus is principally on western Europe, but material is also drawn from Scandinavia and from eastern and central Europe.
Citation
Houston , R A 2003 , ' 'Lesser-used' languages in historic Europe : models of change from the 16th to the 19th centuries ' , European Review , vol. 11 , no. 3 , pp. 299-324 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798703000309
Publication
European Review
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1062-7987Type
Journal article
Rights
(c)2003 Acadamia Europaea
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.