The Economist, Apr 18th 2013, 17:51 by S.A.P. | LOS ANGELES
FOR small European states, language policy calls for a delicate balancing act. Luxembourg has three official languages, Switzerland four, and Belgium three. In Luxembourg, the distinction is mostly functional: different languages for different social spheres. In Switzerland and Belgium, languages are instead spread geographically. This geographic spread seems to simplify matters on paper, creating clear lines between language communities. Belgium’s constitution, for example, divides the country into four linguistic regions: the Dutch-speaking north (Flanders, or the Flemish Region), the French-speaking south (Wallonia), the small German-speaking regions in the east, and the bilingual (Dutch-French) capital, Brussels. But with the country divided roughly in half between Flanders and Wallonia, laws and policies become proxies for deeper cultural tensions. The standoff between the Dutch- and French-speaking communities was particularly tense after the 2010 elections, when it took over 500 days to form a government. Read more...