Conflict And Compromise In Multilingual Societies

Download or read book Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies written by Kenneth Douglas McRae and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the French Revolution, Switzerland developed from a country in which German dominated linguistically into a confederation of four officially recognised language groups -- German, French, Italian, Romansh -- concentrated in different geographical areas and marked by distinctive cultures and lifestyles. Following a historical overview of this development and the social and political institutionalisation of the linguistic cleavages, McRae's study examines key elements in the functioning of modern Swiss society; political parties, federal and cantonal institutions, the media, educational and cultural policies, the relation between the linguistic cleavages and class and religion, the attitudes and behaviour of the four language groups to one another. It concludes by reviewing the various explanations advanced to explain the relative social and political stability of Switzerland.