MULTILINGUALISM AS A LANGUAGE POLICY IN EUROPE
Most of the world’s population speaks more than one language but most of
the populations in western cultures are monolingual in one of the “big”
languages in spite of being exposed to other languages mainly in the school
context. Therefore we can say that multilingualism at the sociolinguistic level
is more spread than multilingualism at the individual level but even in this
case it is extremely common. The spread of multilingualism justifies its
importance in research. In fact the study of different aspects of the diversity
of languages should be one of the main goals of linguistics [1, 6].
Multilingualism is a common and increasing phenomenon in present day
society which can be studied from different perspectives. The purpose of the
given paper is to focus on language as a cultural asset and to establish the
relationship between linguistic diversity and language policy.
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within
the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-four official
languages of the European Union along with a range of others. The EU asserts
that it is in favour of linguistic diversity.
In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states and EU
does not have a common language policy; EU institutions play a supporting role
in this field, based on the principle of “subsidiarity”, they promote a
European dimension in the member states' language policies. The EU encourages
all its citizens to be multilingual; specifically, it encourages them to be
able to speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue. Though the EU
has very limited influence in this area as the content of educational systems
is the responsibility of individual member states, a number of EU funding
programmes actively promote language learning and linguistic diversity.
The most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU is German, while 51% of
adults can understand English. All 24 official languages of the EU are accepted
as working languages, but in practice only three are used most often: English,
French, and German. Of these, English is the most common. French is an official
language common to the three cities that are political centres of the Union:
Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France) and Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) [3].
Firstly, it is important to define the term language policy. Language
policy is concerned with a highly complex issue; therefore, language policy as
a separate field of study requires an interdisciplinary approach drawing upon
the knowledge and tools of several academic disciplines such as applied
linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology, anthropology and political theory.
This has resulted in a confusing terminology: there are several different
definitions of the same term, and some terms are used with a similar or
overlapping definition. A lot of progress has been made in the field in the
past few decades, but terminological ambiguity is still prevalent. Szépe and
Derényi come to the same conclusion, and claim that language policy isnot an
established Language policy in the European Union; it is an emerging field,
which is trying to define itself, find the scope of its inquiry and establish
its methods. Therefore, before discussing the language issue of the EU, it is
important to clarify what is meant by language policy. “Language policy” and
“language planning” are often used interchangeably. Language planning is the
practical realization of language policy. Similarly, Kaplan and Baldauf
consider language planning the implementation of language policy. According to
Labrie, language pluralism means that several languages and language variations
are in contact, often resulting in language conflicts. Language policy aims at
solving these conflicts and reaching a compromise by exercising direct,
explicit and conscious social control, which stems from political decisions
reflecting power relations. Thus, language policy must be examined in a very
broad context. Labrie argues that language policy (just like other disciplines)
involves both theory and practice. He distinguishes between three theoretical
levels of language policy. The most specific is called “language policy”, which
refers to concrete, specific measures. A good example is the very first Council
regulation from 1958, which determined the languages to be used in the European
Economic Community. In his view “language politics” is a more general term
which includes all the steps taken by a particular state or organization in
relation to languages. This is what language policy as a discipline
investigates. He notes, however, that language policy cannot be separated from
the broad social context. Behind language policy there is an implicit language
ideology framework, which is related to broad political and social ideologies.
French language policy writers often use the term “glottopolitique”
(“glottopolitics”), which means that language policy must take into account the
broader social and political factors such as the distribution of communicative
roles in society. Similarly, in German usage, there are two terms: “politische
Sprach-wissenschaft” (political linguistics), investigating the relationship
between language issues and social groups, which is expressed in
“Sprachpolitik” (language policy), an ideological component of society. It can
be concluded that official language policy decisions should be analyzed in a
larger political framework, which presupposes political ideologies. The models
used in political science can contribute to a more comprehensive analysis of
language policy, in particular if we want to evaluate the language policy of
complex political organizations such as the EU [2, 126–127].
Another important issue in this framework is the problem of
multilingualism which can be defined in different ways but basically it refers to
the ability to use more than two languages. A basic distinction when discussing
bilingualism and multilingualism is between the individual and societal level.
At the individual level, bilingualism and multilingualism refer to the
speaker’s competence to use two or more languages. At the societal level the
terms bilingualism and multilingualism refer to the use of two or more
languages in a speech community and it does not necessary imply that all the
speakers in that community are competent in more than one language.
Multilingualism can be the result of different factors. Some of them are
the following:
- historical or political movements such as imperialism or colonialism.
In this case the spread of some languages occurs, such as Spanish to Latin America,
it results in the coexistence of different languages;
- economic movements in the case of migration. The weak economics of
some areas and countries results in movement of the population to other
countries and to the development of multilingual and multicultural communities
in the host countries;
- increasing communications among different parts of the world and the
need to be competent in languages of wider communication. This is the case with
the development of new technologies and also with science. English is the main
language of wider communication but it is used by millions of people who use
other languages as well;
- social and cultural identity and the interest for maintenance and
revival of minority languages. This interest creates situations in which two or
more languages co-exist and are necessary in everyday communication;
- education: second and foreign languages are part of the curriculum in
many countries;
- religion movements that result in people moving to a new country [1, 6–7].
Language diversity requires planning and care and involves some actions such
as:
1. Adding other languages: learning other languages can be an
enrichingexperience.
2. Protecting rare languages: protecting languages at risk through
legislation and education.
3. Nurturing languages in danger of extinction: intervention may be
necessary and may imply positive economic discrimination.
4. Controlling languages that spread quickly and naturally: spread can
be allowed if it does not kill other species [1,11–12].
A European language policy has become necessary due to the fact that
linguistic diversity is an inherent part of European history and within the EU
it is a fundamental right to speak one’s own mother tongue.
References
1.
Gorter D.
Benefits of linguistic diversity and multilingualism / Gorter Durk.
–Netherlands : Fryske Akademy. – 2005. – 45 p.
2.
Károly A.
Language Policy in the European Union / Adrienn Károly // Eger Journal of
English Studies. – 2008. – Vol. VIII. – P. 125–141.
3.
Languages of the
European Union [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Union
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