Laihonen, Petteri (2009): Language Ideologies in the Romanian Bana: Analysis of Interviews and Academic Writings among the Hungarians and Germans. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä

Abstract

In his study, Petteri Laihonen explores how metalanguage is circulated in different discourses in one of Europe’s most multilingual regions – the Romanian Banat. Accordingly, the author carried out a many-sided analysis that aimed at: (1) exploring the range of folk theories or ideologies about language(s) in the Banat; (2) comparing the views of the local inhabitants with the views presented in the writings of the educated elite; (3) analyzing the interactional site (interviews) where metalinguistic talk occurred. Actually, this study is a doctoral dissertation defended in Hungarian Studies (University of Jyväskylä) in June 2009. It is composed of six articles, which have been written in three different languages (English, Hungarian and German) and published in reputable periodicals and collections. Furthermore, it includes an adjoined and extended introduction that summarizes the research background, the analytical methods, and the achieved goals. Although multilingualism in the Banat is investigated with a focus on the Hungarian language, all available data on the other regional languages is discussed throughout the book, especially with respect to the German written sources and interviews with German speakers. From a methodological point of view, the study is an attempt to bring together insights from the fields of Language Ideology and Conversational Analysis.