What is the European Language Monitor (ELM)?

The aim of the ELM is to provide a rich and complex database (primarily containing empirical data) which will be used for the development and evaluation of national and European language policies. It is conceived as an online system for the collection and provision of detailed up-to-date information on the linguistic situation and its development in the various member states of the European Union and possibly, also, of other European countries. As a long-term aim, the ELM will provide information on the linguistic development of Europe and its member states. The data addresses domains that relate directly or indirectly to linguistic status planning, acquisition planning, and corpus planning in the individual countries. Read more ...

What can you find in ELM 3?

ELM 3 is based on a questionnaire which has been filled out by the official institutions of language of each country associated in EFNIL. The answers contain quantitative and qualitative data such as quotes from legislative texts and other texts in the original language and their translation into English.

ELM 3 contains answers from 27 countries to a number of detailed questions on 8 main topics:

  1. General questions about each country and its languages
  2. Specific legal regulations
  3. Instruction in and use of languages in primary and secondary education
  4. Instruction in and use of languages at university level
  5. Media
  6. Business
  7. Dissemination of official languages abroad
  8. Language organisations

Please note the following:

  • The questionnaire mainly concerns the official language(s) of each country.
  • The questionnaire has eight main questions. Each question has a number of sub-questions.
  • Some questions are not applicable to countries in which English is an official language.
  • Some questions must be interpreted in a specific way by countries that are federations.
  • Wherever literal quotations from official texts are given, you can find the quotation in the original language and in a translation in English (authorised if possible).
  • If exact data or figures are not available, estimates are given and the sources are quoted. It is indicated where an answer is based on personal information or whether it constitutes a general estimate.

How can you browse the data?

Data Query

You can access the data in ELM by selecting Data Query at the top of this page. There you can compile a query by selecting the countries and questions you are interested in.

Search

In the Search field you can type any word or phrase in order to browse the entire database and get the context where it occurs. E.g. typing in Romani will render a table containing all the answers in the questionnaire in which Romani has been mentioned.

Disclaimer

Please note that ELM is updated every 4 years and should primarily be used to get an overview of language legislation and language practices and to enable researchers, politicians and journalists to explore the richness of European practices in this field. If you wish to quote the data, please make sure to check that they are still valid, as language legislation is constantly changing for instance by contacting the relevant official institutions of language listed here:

http://www.efnil.org/partners

Feedback

If you should find flaws or mistakes in the data, please do not hesitate to send an email to sabine@dsn.dk