Multilingualism and transnational communication strategies in Europe: from Hapsburg to the European Union

The chapter discusses multilingualism in the European context and transnational communication strategies in order to accommodate the challenges of multilingualism. In the introduction, concepts defining multilingualism, transnationalism and communication strategies will be discussed and clarified. The appearance of different communication strategies, including lingua francas, like English as a lingua franca, Regional Languages of Communication (ReLan), Lingua Receptiva (LaRa) and Code Switching (CS) will be discussed in the framework of three multilingual states in the European context, i.e. the historical Hapsburg Empire, Switzerland and the European Union.
We will compare multilingualism and the transnational communication strategies in these cases and draw some conclusions on historical developments of multilingualism and transnational communication strategies in Europe as well.