Introduction: Brexit and the (lack of) the migrant voice

A recent report for Bloomberg shows that over 200,000 European Union citizens have left Britain since 2019 as the looming end to the Brexit transition period made it increasingly hard for them to live and work freely, or to return to new jobs in the UK post-pandemic. This chapter gives voice to the European ‘others’ living and working within the UK and examines how European countries have responded to Brexit in their own respective cultural and literary engagements. It assesses Brexit from the unique vantage point of that particular country’s cultural production or the experiences of its citizens or cultural commentators. Languages after Brexit hints at the limits of a future British insularity where a lack of foreign language knowledge might severely impact the role the UK can play in the global market. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.