Language policy, external political pressure and internal linguistic change : the particularity of the Baltic case

A discussion of language policy in the Baltic states at the present moment inevitable addresses the politics of language and macropolitical forces little related to language. The aggression of Rusia towards Ukraine, and threats of the same to the Baltic states, must now be taken into account in understanding language issues (Stuttaford 2015b). At the same time, language policy in the Baltics has been an issue that has been salient ever since these countries regained independence de facto in 1991, and of longer historical interest as well. While perhaps not totally unique in their pursuit of defending their national languages the Baltic states have had to negotiate external pressures of a perhaps unusual intensity, with interest in and critique of their policies coming from both East and West, as well as internally. This chapter looks beyond the current menacing context of tension with Russia, traces some specific historical factors that have determined language policy, looks at the complex and sometimes paradoxical interplay between external and internal pressures determining language policy and looks briefly at what is an already changing language situation on the ground, examined in greater detail in other contributions to this book.