Blurb:

The focus of this chapter is on the status of immigrant minority languages (henceforward IM) at home and at school from four different European perspectives. In the first section I offer discourse perspectives on the semantics and some of the central notions in this field of study. In the second part I discuss the utilisation and effects of different demographic criteria for the definition and identification of (school) population groups in a multicultural society. Next I offer sociolinguistic perspectives on the distribution and vitality of IM languages across Europe. In this context the rationale and major outcomes of the Multilingual Cities Project, carried out in six major multicultural cities in different European Union (henceforward EU) nation-states, are presented. Finally I offer comparative perspectives on educational policies and practices in the domain of IM languages in the six EU countries under discussion. I conclude with an outlook on how multilingualism can be promoted for all children in an increasingly multicultural Europe.