0000000000531419
AUTHOR
Ina Druviete
Language as a Value in a Pragmatic World: Global and National Approach
The article deals with the perception of language and languages in the economy-oriented contemporary world and its specific features in such language-centered countries as Latvia. Two main levels could be discussed concerning the ‘intellectual’, ‘symbolic’ and practical treatment of language: a global (supra-national) and a national one. In majority of countries special laws have been adopted or national level programs have been enacted in order to protect the most significant elements of respective national identities – folklore, traditional ways of life, beliefs and languages in particular. At the beginning of the 21st century, economic and political goals of the European Union have been …
Bibliographie/Bibliography/Bibliographie 2015
The Latvian referendum on Russian as a second state language, February 2012
On 18 February 2012 Latvian citizens participated in a referendum on making Russian a second official (“state”) language. The proposal was rejected by three-quarters of voters. There is a complex background to language policy in Latvia, where since regaining independence in 1991 the country has promoted Latvian as the only state language, though Russian and other languages are widely used at a societal level. The language law and associated citizenship law in Latvia (as in Estonia) have received considerable commentary, with recent significant writings disagreeing strongly regarding their interpretation. These laws have also very often been criticized by both European institutions and by Ru…