was  partial  and  would  support,  ignore  or  fight  language  policy  depending  on
the  position  of  the  writers.  Only  a  minority  was  of  the  opinion  that  language
and  nationality  need  not  coincide  at  all  costs.  The  idea  that  the  coexistence  of
German  and  French  could  have  positive  aspects  was  even  less  popular  and  it  is
not  until  very  recently  that  it  has  gained  support.
The  Warsaw  conference  of  1993  quite  naturally  devoted  a  lot  of  attention  to
Slavic  languages.  This  tradition  was  continued  in  Saarbrücken,  albeit  on  a  more
modest  scale.  Roland  Marti  (Saarbrücken)  „Language  policy  in  the  border  areas
of  the  Slavic  linguistic  continuum“  gives  a  tour  d’horizon  of  the  situation  in  the
Slavic  area.  He  distinguishes  between  external  (directed  towards  non-Slavic
languages)  and  internal  language  policy  (directed  towards  other  Slavic  languages).
  Most  interesting  is  the  internal  language  policy.  It  has  led  to  the
creation  of  new  standard  languages  in  areas  that  were  formerly  roofed  over  by
other  Slavic  standard  languages.  Even  more  remarkable  are  attempts  to  unify
existing  standard  languages:  the  best  known  case  is  the  Serbo-Croatian
language.  Two  contributions  describe  the  relationship  between  German  and
Polish.  One  of  them  focuses  on  Germany,  the  other  on  Poland.  Alicja  Nagórko
(Warsaw)  „Poles  in  Germany  as  mirrored  by  language“  compares  the  linguistic
situation  of  Polish  migrant  workers  in  the  Ruhr  area  around  the  turn  of  the
century  with  the  language  of  Solidamosc  emigration  and  the  so-called  Aussiedler
  (ethnic  Germans  returning  to  Germany).  The  former  resisted  assimilation
  for  quite  a  long  time  and  they  even  left  an  imprint  on  the  German
language  in  the  Ruhr  area.  The  latter,  on  the  contrary,  are  quite  eager  to  assimilate.
  Marek  Laziriski  (Warsaw)  „Language  policy  in  Poland  towards  the
German  minority“  tackles  a  topic  that  is  politically  rather  sensitive.  The  uneasy
relationship  between  the  German  minority  and  the  Polish  majority  has  historical
roots  and  the  situation  demands  considerable  circumspection  on  both  sides.  It
seems,  however,  that  tensions  are  lessening  somehow  and  there  are  some
positive  developments  to  be  noted,  especially  as  far  as  the  situation  of  the
German  language  at  school  is  concerned.
Two  contributions  are  devoted  to  a  classic  example  of  a  multi-ethnic,  multilingual
  state  and  its  successor,  viz.  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire  and  Austria.
Friedrich  E.  Prinz  (Munich)  „Language  and  nation  in  the  Bohemian  countries
(1848-1938)“  devotes  his  attention  mainly  to  one  facet  of  language  policy  in
the  Empire,  viz.  the  Mährischer  Ausgleich.  This  attempt  to  ease  linguistic  and
ethnic  tensions  introduced  the  principle  of  personal  autonomy  (self-declaration)
by  allowing  the  citizens  to  opt  for  a  national  register  of  their  choice.  Peter
Wiesinger  (Vienna)  „On  the  linguistic  situation  and  language  policy  in  the
minority  areas  of  Austria“  describes  the  present  situation  in  Austria.  The  six
officially  recognised  minorities  are  granted  far-reaching  protection  in  cultural
and  linguistic  matters.  Even  though  language  policy  protects  and  supports
minority  languages,  they  are  diminishing,  especially  with  the  younger  generation.


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