It was traditionally assumed that a single official language was necessary for the wellbeing of the state, particularly in France and Britain. This assumption is now questioned, and regional languages are making, in some cases, an impressive comeback. This book analyses a range of languages' development, decline and efforts at regeneration.

ANNE JUDGE is Professor Emeritus of French and Linguistics at the University of Surrey, UK. She has lectured and published extensively on language and linguistic legislation, originally in relation to France, French within the EU, and the Francophone world, but more recently on linguistic legislation in Britain, finding their similarities and differences both fascinating and enlightening. She is co-author of a history of French style, Stylistic Developments in Literary and Non-Literary French Prose (1995), and is perhaps best known as co-author of A Reference Grammar of Modern French, first published in 1983.