Multilingualism, Nationhood, and Cultural Identity. Northern Europe, 16th-19th Centuries

Editors: Willem Frijhoff, Marie-Christine Kok Escalle and Karène Sanchez-Summerer

Before the modern nation-state became a stable, widespread phenomenon throughout northern Europe, multilingualism-the use of multiple languages in one geographical area-was common throughout the region. This book brings together historians and linguists, who apply their respective analytic tools to offer an interdisciplinary interpretation of the functions of multilingualism in identity-building in the period, and, from that, draw valuable lessons for understanding today’s cosmopolitan societies.

This is the first volume of the new book series Languages and Culture in History. More information on the website of Amsterdam University Press.