Belgium: only by name? Vanishing federalism and invisible minorities

The protection of linguistic minorities through the conservation or restoration of traditional toponyms, in the areas of traditional settlement, involves (albeit by different approaches) all pluralistic and plurilingual legal systems. Despite the apparent favour of recovery of traditional toponomastics and legal protection of linguistic minorities, the right to use traditional place-names is often assigned minor rank in the hierarchy of minority protection measures and the formal legal provisions sometimes are ineffective or contradicted when implemented. This book is conceived in an attempt to understand these mechanisms, of which there has not yet been any full legal analysis. In consideration of the specificity and multidisciplinary character of the subject, the research contained in this volume includes contributions by linguists, glottologists and historians, as well as papers on the European legislation of linguistic minorities' toponomastics in a comparative perspective.