Explaining the Paucity of Migrant Language Valorization Policies in Europe: An Analysis of International and Supranational Constraints and Incentives

Abstract

Migration flows in Europe have rendered its population more diverse and resulted in the presence of multiple languages in migrant-hosting countries and their education systems. Despite the potential of this language heritage to be leveraged as a resource, many European countries have been reluctant to adopt active public policies that promote the preservation of migrant languages. This article aims to explain the prevalent absence of policies promoting migrant languages in education in Europe through an analysis of the direction and approach of the external constraints and incentives that influence policymaking at the national level. Thus, the article embarks upon an unprecedented analysis of official documents (e.g., covenants, regulations, directives, etc.) adopted (or not adopted) by the main international and supranational organizations that have an impact on national policies in Europe: the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. The analysis identifies the prevalent attitude of such organizations toward migrant languages and classifies it according to an assimilation-pluralism dichotomy and a continuum that sees policy approaches as negative, symbolic, or positive. The findings show that both international and supranational organizations have been reluctant to actively promote the preservation of migrant languages in education, thus explaining the generalized absence of significant national migrant language promotion policies in Europe. Ultimately, the results of the analysis will be interesting for academics in the fields of language, integration, and migration, and useful for practitioners at both the policymaking and the education delivery level.