Introduction

this volume represents the outcome of its first workshop. But already in April 2009 a Spring School was organized under the title Standard and non-standard languages in Europe: future and vitality of dialects, language contacts and new linguistic scenarios in Europe. A second International Spring School on Europe beyond Europe: new horizons on pidgins and creoles is scheduled in April 2011, and we are now looking for an appropriate topic for the second workshop to be held in 2012. We want to create a reference point for research on the linguistic dynamics of Europe and favor international cooperation, especially by gathering young researchers from many different countries and different cultural as well as linguistic traditions: workshops and spring schools should lead to establish new research networks as an outcome of these fruitful interactions between European and non-European researchers.