Does Europe Need One Language

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,3, Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo, course: European Studies, language: English, abstract: Today the European Union (EU) is home to 497 million people from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The Union is the only organization that unifies so many different countries, more precisely 23 official languages and 27 European nations (Zimmer 2007, p. 20). Driven by the common idea of creating a democratic community and a globally competitive market, the EU strongly corroborates equality of every nation's culture, values and languages. Nevertheless the EU is currently struggling with the discrepancy between cultural and linguistic diversity and the equal integration of every member state. Additionally, the emerging English, as the international lingua franca, seems to put a strain on the peaceful cooperation of all 23 official languages. In view of this unfortunate development the question aroused if Europe needs one common language. The first two segments of chapter 2 are to give an overview of the linguistic situation and the official language arrangements of the EU. The following segment describes the contentious situation of the EU, caused by superior number of languages, high costs and the actual inequality of some official languages. In the first subsection of chapter 3 several reason for adopting only one official language are determined. Thereupon the languages Latin, Esperanto and English are analyzed to examine if one of them is able to function as the European lingua franca. In the last part of chapter 3 a short conclusion on monolingualism is drawn and the effects on the functioning of the EU explained. Based on the previous formulated conclusion, the first segment of chapter 4 for will sum up main reasons for maintaining the European language diversity. In addition the positive attitude of the EU to

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,3, Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo, course: European Studies, language: English, abstract: Today the European Union (EU) is home to 497 million people from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The Union is the only organization that unifies so many different countries, more precisely 23 official languages and 27 European nations (Zimmer 2007, p. 20). Driven by the common idea of creating a democratic community and a globally competitive market, the EU strongly corroborates equality of every nation’s culture, values and languages. Nevertheless the EU is currently struggling with the discrepancy between cultural and linguistic diversity and the equal integration of every member state. Additionally, the emerging English, as the international lingua franca, seems to put a strain on the peaceful cooperation of all 23 official languages. In view of this unfortunate development the question aroused if Europe needs one common language. The first two segments of chapter 2 are to give an overview of the linguistic situation and the official language arrangements of the EU. The following segment describes the contentious situation of the EU, caused by superior number of languages, high costs and the actual inequality of some official languages. In the first subsection of chapter 3 several reason for adopting only one official language are determined. Thereupon the languages Latin, Esperanto and English are analyzed to examine if one of them is able to function as the European lingua franca. In the last part of chapter 3 a short conclusion on monolingualism is drawn and the effects on the functioning of the EU explained. Based on the previous formulated conclusion, the first segment of chapter 4 for will sum up main reasons for maintaining the European language diversity. In addition the positive attitude of the EU towards multilingualism and its main objectives for a multilingual EU are presented. A final result on multilingualism and the answer of the core question of the report ends this chapter. A final conclusion aims to point out the necessity of lingual diversity for the future progress of the EU.

This volume offers an insider perspective on language policy in the EU, bringing together two key figures well acquainted with its development to reflect critically on the future of language policy and practices in post-Brexit Europe. Born out of Alice Leal’s English and Translation in the European Union, this volume features annotated interviews with Seán Ó Riain, newly appointed Multilingualism Officer by the Irish diplomatic service, whose decades of experience in key milestones in EU language policy offer a unique perspective on its development. Each chapter, bookended by a contextual introduction and a closing commentary by Leal, addresses such key questions as: How long can the EU keep linguistic and cultural spheres off the policy-making agenda? How has the ECRML impacted linguistic diversity in the region? How widespread is the dominance of English in EU institutions today and what impact does it have on EU multilingualism? Why is EU language policy not given the attention it warrants? What does the future of language policy hold in this post-Brexit era? Providing exclusive insights into EU language policy, this book will appeal to scholars in applied linguistics, translation studies, sociolinguistics, and political science, as well as stakeholders in language policy and planning.

Recent developments in the European integration process have raised, amongst many other things, the issue of linguistic diversity, for some a stumbling block to the creation of a European democratic polity and its legal and social institutions. The solution to the 'question of language', involves an understanding of the role played by natural languages and the consequent design of policies and institutional mechanisms to facilitate inter-linguistic and intercultural communication. This is not an exclusively European problem, and nor is it entirely new, for it is also the problem of linguistic majorities and minorities within unitary nation-states. However, the effects of globalization and the diffusion of multiculturalism within nation-states have given renewed emphasis to the question of language in diverse societies. Facing the question anew involves reconsidering traditional ideas about social communication and the public sphere, about opinion-formation and diffusion, about the protection of cultural and linguistic minorities, and about the role that language plays in the process of formation of political and legal cultures. This volume is intended as a multidisciplinary contribution towards studying and assessing the range of problems that form the 'language question' in Europe and diverse societies.

Open publication> The Languages and Linguistics ofEurope: A Comprehensive Guideis part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of the continents of the world. The book supplies profiles of the language families of Europe, including the sign languages. It also discusses the areal typology, paying attention to the Standard Average European, Balkan, Baltic and Mediterranean convergence areas. Separate chapters deal with the old and new minority languages and with non-standard varieties. A major focus is language politics and policies, including discussions of the special status of English, the relation between language and the church, language and the school, and standardization. The history of European linguistics is another focus as is the history of multilingual European 'empires' and their dissolution. The volume is especially geared towards a graduate and advanced undergraduatereadership. It has been designed such that it can be used, as a whole or in parts, as a textbook, the first of its kind, for graduate programmes with a focus on the linguistic (and linguistics) landscape of Europe.

Write guidebooks, make travel TV, lead bus tours? Cameron Hewitt has been Rick Steves’ right hand for more than 20 years, doing just that. The Temporary European is a collection of vivid, entertaining travel tales from across Europe. Cameron zips you into his backpack for engaging and inspiring experiences: sampling spleen sandwiches at a Palermo street market; hiking alone with the cows high in the Swiss Alps; simmering in Budapest’s thermal baths; trekking across an English moor to a stone circle; hand-rolling pasta at a Tuscan agriturismo; shivering through Highland games in a soggy Scottish village; and much more. Along the way, Cameron introduces us to his favorite Europeans. In Mostar, Alma demonstrates how Bosnian coffee isn’t just a drink, but a social ritual. In France, Mathilde explains that the true mastery of a fromager isn’t making cheese, but aging it. In Spain, Fran proudly eats acorns, but never corn on the cob. While personal, the stories also tap into the universal joy of travel. Cameron’s travel motto (inspired by a globetrotting auntie) is "Jams Are Fun"—the fondest memories arrive when your best-laid plans go sideways. And he encourages travelers to stow their phones and guidebooks, slow down, and savor those magic moments that arrive between stops on a busy itinerary. The stories are packed with inspiration and insights for your next trip, including how to find the best gelato in Italy, how to select the best produce at a Provençal market, how to navigate Spain’s confusing tapas scene, and how to survive the experience of driving in Sicily (hint: just go numb). And you’ll get a reality check for every traveler’s "dream job": researching and writing guidebooks; guiding busloads of Americans on tours around Europe; scouting and producing a travel TV show; and working with Rick Steves and his merry band of travelers. It’s a candid account of how the sausage gets made in the travel business—told with warts-and-all honesty and a sense of humor. For Rick Steves fans, or anyone who loves Europe, The Temporary European is inspiring, insightful, and fun.

This volume contains papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics held at the University of Salford, in September 1993. They illustrate the breadth and diversity of research in the field.

This is part of a series of nine volumes publishing the results of the research project "Typology of Languages in Europe" (EUROTYP)--based on a 1988 workshop by the Standing Committee for the Humanities, the European Science Foundation, and involving participation by more than 100 linguists. The major goal of EUROTY was to study the cross-linguistic patterns and limitations of variation in nine focal areas: pragmatic organization of discourse, constituent order, subordination and complementation, adverbial constructions, tense and aspect, noun phrase structure, clitics, and word prosodic systems in the languages of Europe. This effort provided a testing ground for theoretical controversies and new theory development, as detailed here by a dozen contributors. Includes a language index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR