Page 217 - Manj razširjeni evropski jeziki in jezikovne politike

Summary

The terms lesser-spoken/used/known languages and less commonly/wide-
lyspoken/usedlanguagesrespectively,havebeentranslatedintoSlovenian
as manj razširjeni jeziki (mrj), the French equivalent being les langues de
moindre diffusion/extension, les langues rares or else les langues moins
répandues, whilst the corresponding Italian translation is le lingue meno
parlate/usate. Since the terms have only appeared in scientific and profes-
sional literature over the last three decades, they represent a global soci-
olinguistic invention, as well as in the European, and consequently also
the Slovenian contexts. Linguists, those in sociolinguistic circles in partic-
ular, use these terms to refer to the group of languages characterised by
at least one, but in most cases several, and sometimes even all of the fol-
lowing factors: a low number of speakers, a narrow speaking area, a low
or zero degree of standardisation, the absence of or a limited development
of literature, a weak presence or complete absence at the level of the ed-
ucational system, public administration and legislation in vigour on the
territory where a determined language is spoken, a low degree of language
awareness among speakers as regards their less widely used mother tongue
and their tendency to privilege the language/s which is/are higher hierar-
chically placed in society, i.e. the one(s) considered more prestigious for
communication in their usual settings. We refer to those languages whose
existence is, according to the above criteria, objectively endangered, as well
as those on the edge of extinction or which have already disappeared and
are being revitalised by means of a broad variety of contemporary protec-
tive measures and tools. Our survey examines those endangered/extinct
languages in the European context and the results achieved through the
implementation of the common European Union language policy. In other
words, these measures and tools have partly been elaborated within the
European political macrosphere. Some of these tools and measures have,
on the other hand, been created in the in-between political sphere, i.e. by
the language policies of individual European countries and regions. And
finally, some achievements in the field of linguistic protection are the fruit
of local language policies i.e. of the political microsphere. The third sphere
is undoubtedly the most essential component of the three-dimensional
chain, local communities assuming either the most active or passive role
in the implementation of language policy orientations, despite these poli-

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