Tower of Babel or ‘Englishisation’ ?
Tower of Babel
or ‘Englishisation’? A Brief Look at Language Use within the European” Commission
by Carolyn Ban, Professor, Graduate School of Public
and International Affairs
“The image of the tower of Babel is often evoked in reference to the European Union, especially but not only by
the anti-EU British press. And there is some truth to that image, as the number
of official languages within the EU has swelled to 23, and all official
documents must be translated into all of these languages, creating the world’s
largest translation service. The picture within the European Commission (EC),
however, is somewhat different. English, French, and German are the three
working languages of the Commission, but only French and English are “drafting”
languages, and German is used only infrequently. This article looks first at
the impact of enlargement on the balance between English and French and then at
the broader issue of language use in an international environment in which most
people are working outside of their native languages”.
Extract from Conclusion
“the need to recognize that almost
all staff are working outside of their native languages and that both
linguistic and cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings. Those who
survive and even thrive in this environment are those who approach their
colleagues with patience and tolerance and who take real pleasure in the rich
cultural and linguistic mélange that characterizes this unique organization.”
Source:
European Union Center of Excellence and European Studies Center
University Center for International Studies 4200 Posvar Hall,
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15260
e-mail : euce at pitt.edu
EurActiv
28/03/2008
Defending the multiplicity of languages in the EU is the best way of protecting them as taking a single language too seriously will only succeed in killing it, argues Catherine Suard of the French Institute in Sofia in an interview with EurActiv Bulgaria.
Posted by: EurActiv | March 28, 2008 at 11:45 AM