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Abstract
This article aims to show that it is only by comparing different multilingual communities that a typologically relevant description of such communities is made possible. An example (Brix, 1982) is presented to demonstrate that a usable description of such regions is implicitly based on comparison and what factors are important in this respect. It is shown that only a model of variables which can comprise the analogous traits of the situations as well as the differences between them enables an adequate comparison to be made.
The examples of the Croats in the Burgenland and of the Slovenes in Carinthia show what the consequences for the description of the situations are and what difficulties arise with such a description. The domains of the semi‐official use of language are examined to find out what parallels and differences in the factors which are used for the description of multilingual communities (e.g. economic situation, legislation, historical development, sociolinguistic situation) can be related the peculiarities of language use in the two situations. In this way typological similarities and certain idiosyncratic characteristics of the two regions can be understood.