The future of multilingualism in European institutions

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

7 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/15/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

European union

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Summary :

Introduction.
International linguistic tendencies.
1. International communication.
2. Global institutions.
3. Commercial negotiations.
Languages and European integration.
1. Language demographics.
2. Free trade vs cultural identity.
3. The impact of enlargement.
Multilingualism in European institutions.
1. Brief history.
2. Current situation.
3. Outlook.
Conclusion.
References.

Abstract

The progressive enlargement of the european Union brings about many questions, among which linguistic diversity deserves to be explored. In light of the changes brought about by globalization and the resulting emergence of a so-called "global" language, the relevance of cultural identity is now being questioned in a context of liberalization of exchanges to maximize economic benefit. How is the european Union to integrate all of these tendencies into a model it can subsequently defend in front of its civil servants, in front of the world and more importantly, in front of its increasing number of citizens?
1. International Linguistic Tendencies
English is quickly becoming the common denominator among populations of various origins. This part will seek to explain how the global linguistic system is structured to then both quantify and justify the increasing use of English in International as well as Economic Relations.
1.1.International Communication
The links existing among the world's languages can be imagined as part of a gravitational model within which concentric levels of languages form around one hyper-central language . This language is then linked to a dozen super-central languages through bilingual systems. These languages in turn are linked to approximately two hundred central languages, who themselves are the pivots of thousands of peripheral languages. In the current global context, English seems to be the main language around which the world's other main languages (French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, etc.) center. French could then be considered the pivot of such languages as Corsican, Canadian, and Creole, each of which presents itself in a series of dialects.