Linguists have always known about the importance of contact between different ethnic and cultural groups. These encounters have shaped our societies, our cultures, and thereby also our language. With two new series on multilingualism, we provide new scientific outlets which can inform current debates in society at large and contribute scientific facts and models to the discussions. These two series complement each other nicely:
Current Issues in Bilingualism – edited by Andrea C. Schalley (Karlstad), M Carmen Parafita Couto (Leiden), Susana A. Eisenchlas (Griffith), Galina Putjata (Münster), and Jorge Valdés Kroff (Florida) – publishes both theoretical and empirical studies on individual and societal bilingualism, and hence bridges the gap that has traditionally been reflected in different approaches to the field. It covers both linguistic and cognitive as well as educational, affective, and social aspects of speakers’ bilinguality.
Contact and Multilingualism – edited by Isabelle Léglise & Stefano Manfredi (both CNRS SeDyL) – on the other hand looks at multilingual practices and language contact both at individual and societal levels together with historical, socio-anthropological and typological issues.