Between Visibility and Vulnerability. Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape

Durk Gorter
University of the Basque Country, EHU

24 October 2025, 4 p.m.
Seminarraum 1, ÖAW-Campus
Bäckerstraße 13, 1010 Vienna

REGISTRATION required by 17 October 2025

PROGRAM

This lecture first introduces the study of linguistic landscapes, which investigates language as it appears in public spaces, and its relevance for understanding the status and struggles of minority languages. Visibility in the public sphere is not merely symbolic; it plays an important role in shaping perceptions of legitimacy, vitality, and belonging for minority language communities. By examining how different minority languages have a presence in signage, advertising, and other forms of public texts, we can begin to assess their relative presence, visibility, and vulnerability. These factors are not neutral but are influenced by language policies, ideological frameworks, and the broader sociopolitical context.

In the lecture a number of minority language groups are compared, situating them along a continuum that reflects their public visibility and vulnerability. Another factor is the degree to which they are exposed to processes of tokenism and commodification, where languages are selectively showcased or marketed, often stripped of their cultural meaning. This analysis is set against the backdrop of globalization, which has disrupted traditional associations between language, ethnolinguistic identity, territoriality, and the state. This calls for a reflection on how visibility in the linguistic landscape can empower vulnerable communities and what it means for the future of minority languages.

DURK GORTER, a distinguished scholar in the field of multilingualism, held the position of Ikerbasque research professor at the University of the Basque Country. He led the Donostia Research group on Education And Multilingualism (DREAM), contributing significantly to research on multilingual education, European minority languages, and linguistic landscapes. 
 His contributions include several books such as “The handbook of Linguistic Landscapes and Multilingualism”, “A Panorama of Linguistic Landscape Studies” (2024), “The Minority Language as a Second Language” (2024), and “Pedagogical Translanguaging” (2021), all co-authored with Jasone Cenoz. The book “Educational Agency and Activism in Linguistic Landscape Studies” (2024) was co-edited with Edina Krompák. 
He taught in the European Master in Multilingualism and Education (EMME) program and supervised various PhD theses. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the journal “Language, Culture and Curriculum”. 
 Gorter has been a visiting scholar at various universities and he has presented at conferences worldwide. His work in the field of multilingualism earned him the Distinguished Scholar of Multilingualism award from the International Association of Multilingualism.