Multilingual States
Countries that have multiple languages along boundaries and within populated areas can bring many disputes and conflicts within a region. Read through the following mini-case studies to explore how multilingual states deal with conflicts and languages.
BELIGUM
If you look at the map on Belgium, you will notice the many countries that border the country. Walloons (southern populations in Beligum) speak French due to the location. People in northern Beligum speak a dialect of Dutch and German known as Flemish.
One of the conflicts with the language differences is seen on road signs. As one travels from north to south in Beligum, the road signs change to reflect the changing culture. The country does have government representatives for each of the languages to ensure that the country is equally divided in linguistics.
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland has a reputation of being the nuetral country. Being centrally located in Europe, there are many languages that are used in Switzerland. There are four major langauges in Switzerland: German, French, Romansh, and Italian. The official languge in Switzerland is Romansh that local government votedon in 1938.