This first volume in the series Language and Social Life is also the first monograph in English on the subject of language contact and conflict in Europes Low Countries, in this case treating the intersection of Germanic and Romance cultures and languages--French-Dutch and French-German crossing through present-day France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The book tracks the sociolinguistic aspects of contacts from the thirteenth century to the present--examining every-day communication situations and the areas of literature, diplomacy and science. Twelve chapters are divided into four parts: theoretical and historical overview; the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period; the 18th and 19th centuries; the 20th and 21st centuries. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)