Are National Policies Barriers against a European Multilingual Strategy? Supranationality and Language Learning in Europe: The Case of Romania

Daniel Ivanus

University of Craiova, Romania

WS153: Constructing Multilingual Europe? Micro and Macro Perspectives

The reconciliation between the oposed principles of unity and diversity is at the heart of European identity (van Els 2001). it is not surprising to find this integration paradox even in the field of language policy. The tension between officially promoted multilingualism and the dominance of a possible future lingua franca requires a thorough analyis of European language education policies. The presentation intends to evaluate the normative effect and attitude of such initiatives aimed at promoting a multilingual Europe on Romanian language-educational policy and intends to answer two related questions: a) How are (symbolic) European language policies reflected in Romanian language practice? b) With it being seemingly almost impossible to influence languages through supranational policies (Wright 2000), are Europeans tempted to continue and follow other external forces and economic influences rather than adopt the European theories of multilingualism?

Session:
Friday, April 4, 2008, 13:45-15:15
room: 18