LINGUISTIC CHANGES IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

More than two decades after the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe, the need for some economic, social, administrative restructuring and territorial division has been strongly felt. The current regional development strategies will not only transform the political, economic, social and cultural realities of Europe, but they will change the linguistic situation of the region as well. Experts on applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, law, social studies and statistics have worked together to contribute to a better understanding of how local, “national” and “international” languages interact in contemporary Europe. Thus, they have discovered that all linguistic innovations and changes in language policies, patterns and vocabulary are due to globalization, democratization, technological advancements and territorial division and will undoubtedly contribute in the near future to the transformation of the entire European linguistic landscape.