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Language policy lacking in the EU

The European Union should not allow the language question to remain unanswered. If the European Union fails to make conscious choices, the growing dominance of English will endanger linguistic diversity. This is the warning issued by Peter A. Kraus, Professor of Ethnic Relations, in his recently published book, A Union of Diversity: Language, Identity and Polity-Building in Europe (Cambridge University Press).

Publicly, the European Union proclaims that its motto is “United in Diversity”. However, speeches about linguistic diversity are, according to Kraus, just that – talk. In place of an active language policy, the EU follows a policy of “permissive diversity”: affairs are allowed to develop on their own without any political decisions.

“From a cultural perspective, permissive diversity carries the same meaning as negative integration does from an economic perspective,” says Kraus. “A common market isn’t created by making new rules, but rather by breaking down established national ways of operating. The same thing is happening now with languages.”

With a clear language policy lacking, English threatens to unseat other languages. In a union with 23 official languages and without intervention in the linguistic market, the strongest will easily be selected as the lingua franca. And the strongest one is English.

“If, as a political solution, we decide that English is number one, then I would accept such a decision, even though I wouldn't agree. It would still be better than leaving the decision in the hands of the linguistic market. Yet in Brussels, the prevailing sentiment is more laissez faire – wait a generation or two and a solution will ‘naturally’ emerge.”

Kraus advocates a system that would include three official languages: English, along with possibly German and French, would comprise the EU’s institutional languages. Civil society requires different solutions for cross-cultural communication and a converging approach towards diversity. Different areas could agree upon their own common language. For example, the Scandinavian countries could use Skandinaviska, Central Europe could choose German and the countries with Latin-based languages could use French.

A more extensive interview with Kraus will appear in issue 9 of Yliopisto magazine.

Text: Mikko Puttonen
Photo: Sanna Agullana
www.helsinki.fi/digitalcommunications
Translation: AAC Noodi Oy

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