FLERSPRÅKIGHET I EUROPA - En diskursanalys av centrala EU-dokument om språklig mångfald

Abstract

This thesis aims to study the European Commission's documents written about multilingualism in Europe. A discourse analysis is used to explore how language used by the Commission displays their construction of arguments and the use of language ideologies amongst other things. The results present us with three types of topoi otherwise known as argumentative patterns: (1) An economical topos with an abundance of references to the common market. (2) A cultural topos exhibiting the cultural values of the EU, and lastly (3) a european identity topos constructed to create a connection between citizens and the institutions. In conclusion we can see how these topoi connect to one another through the spillover effect thus making the discourse of multilingualism centered amongst other measures of integration. The absence of discussion within the material is also a focal point as the Commission’s position in power enables them to construct the discourse towards their advantage.