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The Multilingual Landscape of Higher Education in the Baltic States: Exploring Language Policies and Practices in the University Space

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Multilingualism in the Baltic States

Abstract

In recent years there has been increasing debate about the role and status of different languages in the domain of higher education, with an emphasis on how a multilingual balance can be reached at that level. Language and education issues in the Baltic states have been controversial topics for quite some time. Nevertheless, to date not much attention has been paid here to analysing the sociolinguistic situation at universities. This chapter proposes an analysis of the discourses circulating in the university space in the Baltic states. Methodologically, the chapter draws on ‘nexus analysis’. The results show that the three universities examined (the University of Tartu (UT), the University of Latvia (UL) in Riga and Vilnius University (VU)) follow state official monolingualism to some extent, especially in their material space. However, there are also other spaces where other languages can be more actively incorporated. The implications of the current situation are discussed at the end of the chapter, along with a brief discussion on its effects for actual speakers.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www3.lrs.lt/docs2/NCYNKNNN.PDF.

  2. 2.

    http://www.minelres.lv/NationalLegislation/Latvia/Latvia_Language_English.htm.

  3. 3.

    https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/506112013016/.

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Acknowledgements

The data on which this chapter is based were gathered while the author was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Tartu . The author was supported by the EU through the European Social Fund (Mobilitas Grant No. GFLEE322 MJ). Additional financial support was received from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (Early Career Research Grant No. 2014), support that is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks are owed to Heiko F. Marten and Sanita Lazdiņa for very helpful and thorough comments on earlier versions of the chapter. Any shortcomings and limitations are, of course, my own.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Josep Soler

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  1. Josep Soler
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Correspondence to Josep Soler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Languages and Design, Rēzekne Academy of Technologies, Rēzekne, Latvia

    Sanita Lazdiņa

  2. DAAD Information Centre Riga, Riga, Latvia

    Heiko F. Marten

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Soler, J. (2019). The Multilingual Landscape of Higher Education in the Baltic States: Exploring Language Policies and Practices in the University Space. In: Lazdiņa, S., Marten, H. (eds) Multilingualism in the Baltic States. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56914-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56914-1_14

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56913-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56914-1

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