Endangered Language Varieties in Italy and the Balkans / Bedrohte Sprachvarietäten in Italien und auf dem Balkan / Varietà linguistiche a rischio in Italia e nei Balcani

The contributions to this volume can be traced back to the talks given at the conference “Safeguarding the multiplicity of languages in Europe: Linguistic varieties and minorities at risk in Italy and the Balkans. Linguistic sustainability and policies”, which took place at the Villa Vigoni in March 2018. These texts, from the fields of (socio-)linguistics, cultural studies and literary studies, aim to examine language(s) policy and the protection of alloglossia within the framework of pan-European, national and regional measures. They also reflect upon the future prospects and consequences of these measures. The entries deal with the following issues: minority language policies in Europe: the revitalisation of languages and perspectives for the future; linguistic landscapes and how minority languages “survive”; and contact linguistics and multilingualism as phenomena in minority languages. Amongst other things, the volume shows how centuries-old relationships between both southern European peninsulas are reflected in minority languages, as can be seen in the southern Slavic, Albanian, Greek and Balkan Romance varieties in Italy, but also in the various Romance varieties in the Balkans. Furthermore, varieties of German in Italy will also be discussed.