Warning: Automatic translations may not be 100% accurate.
Show automatically-translated text
[Series of events in several EU languages] The Language of Europe
19/06/2021 00:15
53 comments
Europeans need a shared language ... but which one? This is the question we will discuss in a series of debates, in various languages of the Union.
Our next event/debate:
Sunday, 26 September 2021, 19:30 (Brussels time): "Languages and language learning in the EU" on the occasion of the European Day of Languages
Go to the event's website
Contains the link to the various debates from May 2021 through to March 2022
Contains the link to the various debates from May 2021 through to March 2022
09
May 2021
31
March 2022
Starting at
00:00 AM
Reference: cofe-MEET-2021-06-17062
Version number 12 (of 12) see other versions
Share:
Share link:
Please paste this code in your page:
<script src="https://futureu.europa.eu/processes/Democracy/f/5/meetings/17062/embed.js"></script>
<noscript><iframe src="https://futureu.europa.eu/processes/Democracy/f/5/meetings/17062/embed.html" frameborder="0" scrolling="vertical"></iframe></noscript>
Report inappropriate content
Is this content inappropriate?
Conference on the Future of Europe
Contact the EU
- Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
- Use other telephone options
- Write to us via our contact form
- Meet us at a local EU office
Find an EU social media account
EU institution
Search for EU institutions
- European Parliament
- European Council
- Council of the European Union
- European Commission
- Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
- European Central Bank (ECB)
- European Court of Auditors (ECA)
- European External Action Service (EEAS)
- European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
- European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
- European Investment Bank (EIB)
- European Ombudsman
- European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
- European Data Protection Board
- European Personnel Selection Office
- Publications Office of the European Union
- Agencies
Comment details
You are seeing a single comment
View all comments
Conversation
If the English language would be taught to the Europeans:
- they would receive a window on the World and offered an opportunity to learn what is going on in economics, medicine, engineering and politics etc.
The English language is widely used in the World.
- a second benefit is that they receive a tool to communicate with other Europeans.
No other language offers these benefits.
Why introduce esperanto ?
I agree with you to some extent: English is widely used - because it has been taught as a foreign language in Europe for decades, now. It's a wonderful language (Thanks to the Brits, who are out, now!). French and Spanish seem popular to learn as well. And that is quite an achievement on a continent which used to be a place of many terrible wars for centuries! With all her flaws, Europe, in the form of the European Union, has come a long way - and should go further!
I do not know Esperanto, but 'google translate' does: Mi sendas salutojn al Eŭropo! So, it's a new patchwork language (like EU) but not many speak it.
The most original candidate, due to historical tradition and as former lingua franca, would actually be Latin. It could be easily dismissed as a dead language. But it is still everywhere, if you have a look.
However, the culturally unifying feature of the Europe & EU is the variety of cultures and languages. Diversity is desired - and part of the Charta (Art. 22) !
Marlies. Do not ask how it came about or if it is difficult.
Students and laymen all over the EU will get an opportunity to benefit from the knowledge built up in the English language.
Books and publications have been published about almost any serious subject you can think of.
You will learn the latest- state of the art- issues.
True, English is a dominant language, especially in academia, and can be a door opener to other societies, even promote democratic ideas and ties through social media!
I love the English language and it was obvious for me to choose it as a major in university. It has become a part of me, switching between German and English.
But I am aware of the success of the English language due to colonial history and, of course, due to political reasons during the Cold War.
Language learning is more than "what is it good for" or "what can I gain from that". There is beauty in the usage and cultivation of language learning in any foreign language ... There are these wonderful encounters with knowledge from learning other languages when dealing with English: E.g. the moment you realize that 'the more French words looks like, the more likely they are to be British English'.
I am not sure: Are there still places in Europe where English is not taught in school?
L'anglais est la langue maternelle d'une infime minorité d'Européens. Mais la langue leur donnerait une position particulièrement dominante. Chacun fait un pas vers l'autre. L'espéranto, langue de culture, est dix moins difficile que l'anglais et bien moins cher. L'espéranto est neutre. Pas d'Etat américain, russe ou anglais derrière.
Depuis le Brexit, l'anglais est une langue d'une minorité de personnes. Trop de textes officiels sont en anglais, généralement traduits par des personnes dont la langue maternelle n'est pas l'anglais ; les traductions -comme l'ont montré de nombreux rapports- sont sujets à caution et sont souvent approximatives. Derrière une langue, il faut surtout voir la domination d'un pays, d'une culture, de façons de vivre : comme si tout ce qui venait des Etats-Unis était bénéfique pour les Européens !
J'ai appris la langue francaise a l'école (7 ans) mais aujourd'hui, j'avoue à ma grande honte, que la langue de notre voisins est trop difficile! Mais les Almands ne peuvent pas aimer sans esprit critique...
Pour moi, la France c'est: camping et la plage, le jardin de Monet, bon sens, Asterix, Lupin, Amelie Poulin, Luis de Funes - et le fromage! Est-que c'est une injure?
“El colonialismo lingüístico inglés y el multilingüismo.
En el año 1961 se redacta «The Anglo-American Conference Report 1961», un documento confidencial destinado al British Council, «El inglés debe convertirse en el idioma dominante. […] La lengua materna se estudiará cronológicamente primero, pero, luego, el inglés, en virtud de su uso y funciones, se convertirá en el idioma principal». El informe también especifica que el inglés debe tender al monopolio en los campos culturales y volverse esencial en las especializaciones científicas y técnicas y que, en un entorno internacional, los angloparlantes deben ser completamente intolerantes con el uso de otros idiomas en el ejercicio de su participación.
«Por el predominio actual de la lengua inglesa, Gran Bretaña gana cada año de 17.000 a 18.000 millones de euros».
«¡Lo que no está escrito en inglés no vale la pena leerlo!».”
A minha sugestão passaria pelo Latim... aparentemente, é uma língua complexa, mas temos essa percepção, porque apenas nos chegam excertos de textos clássicos, escritos pelos figuras mais eruditas da língua, mas, se, averiguarmos se no latim existe vocabulário mais próximo daquele que atualmente utilizamos, se as construções frásicas podem nos ser mais aproximadas daquelas com que estamos mais familiarizados, pode chegar-se à conclusão que sim... em latim é possível simplificar ou complexificar. Ao aprender latim, também estaríamos a promover uma melhor compreensão de cada uma das nossas línguas, pois o latim é a génesis de muitos dos nossos idiomas.
Pedro:
Latin has many advantages for those who learn European languages, but these are mainly in vocabulary. I find it improbable that it could be used as an everyday vehicle of communication. Even Portuguese, as a Romance language, has developed grammatically so differently from Latin and has much more in common with the modern European languages, that you would have considerable problems.
Those who take Esperanto seriously show that they are willing to embrace the true essence of language as a vehicle of communication.
Gerald Tucker
Loading comments ...