A similar process led to concentration of the Breton language in northwesternmost France. Basque may, in part, provide a classic example of the impact of geographic and, probably, cultural isolation and insularity. These regional variations, often related to the relative isolation of population groups in valleys or on islands, add greatly to cultural richness and regional pride, but provide a humbling reminder of a language's complexity to someone who may think they have achieved linguistic fluency. Finally, in many countries language is the basis for a heated political issue. However, as a form of protest, many of the English names are routinely painted over.
Similar actions occur in minority regions across the continent.
Tensions between Flemish and French speakers at the Belgian university at Leuven became so caustic during the late 1960s that the university was literally divided along linguistic boundaries. Many people in Western Romania speak Hungarian as their first language. Since the mid-1960s, Hungarian speakers have endured various degrees of repression, including prohibitions in speaking the language in public. In the early 1990s the mayor of Cluj, an important Transylvanian city, went so far as to make all signs in the Hungarian language illegal, punishable by a substantial fine. Each of these examples points to the volatile and highly politicized nature of language in the modern European context.