Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter
Keywords
book review, Swiss multilingualism, Swiss literature, bilingualism, multilingual societies
Abstract
Kenneth D. McRae, professor of political science at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, has spent much of his academic career studying Swiss multilingualism and multiculturalism. In the course of his endeavors he has become an expert on the topic, as is reflected in the books and articles he has published on it, best known among them Switzerland: Example of Cultural Coexistence (1964). Since Canada is itself a linguistically and culturally divided country, Dr. McRae's work on Switzerland assumed a wider significance, inasmuch as it lent itself as a basis for comparison and, perhaps, instruction, especially in his function as a research supervisor for the Canadian Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. In the course of his studies Dr. McRae found that there was a need for more factual and empirically based information on the topic of the plural society and he conceived the plan of publishing four case studies to provide the materials for the comparative building and testing of general theories on plurilingual societies. His volume on Switzerland under review here is, the first of these case studies. Three other volumes by other political scientists, on Belgium, Finland and Canada, are to follow.
Recommended Citation
Meier, Heinz K.
(1985)
"Book Review: Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies,"
Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter: Vol. 21:
Iss.
3, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_newsletter/vol21/iss3/6