On 1st April 2016, a newspaper in France published a rather infamous article on whether English would remain an official language of the EU (European Union) should the United Kingdom decide to exit the EU following a referendum to be held in June, the same year. The article was meant to be in good humor for April Fool’s Day but gained popularity as a heated topic of discussion among the people of France as well as other EU member countries. With a slight majority in UK having voted to ‘leave’ the EU after the referendum on June 23rd, could the English language really be booted out of the Union? Despite being one of the 24 official languages of the EU, English is not recognized as the 1st official language by any other country in the EU as UK was the only nation to do so. Although it is still the 2nd official language for many other member countries such as Ireland and Malta. In relevance to this, Robert Menard, mayor of Beziers, a southern French town, stated that English has no legitimacy as a language in Brussels any longer and was supported by Jean-Luc Melenchon, the left-wing presidential candidate, with his statement of discarding English as the third working language of the European Parliament. While some responded in a positive manner to the probable notion, a majority criticized the idea.
51% of the EU population is fluent in English as a first or second language and Brexit would reduce the amount only to 45%, leaving a majority of them still speaking in English therefore truly questioning the benefits of ‘officially’ removing the language. Moreover, English is followed by German and then French (32% and 26%) as the most spoken language thus dismissing the case for French being the Langue Franca of the EU for many, disregarding the sentiment of the French as they hope otherwise. While a lot of the official workings of the EU, be it the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and many more, take place in French, the formal use of the language from the European Commission’s official languages (English, German and French) depends upon the influence of the member state. Following this, as well as historical traditions and ease of use, the European Central Bank has always used English as their certified language, simply to avoid complicating and jeopardizing sensitive information with the use of unnecessary translation. On June 27th, Danuta Hubner (MEP), the head of the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee, commented that since UK was the only country in the EU to state English as their official language, their exit will be followed by the removal of the language from the union as well. This, however, was clarified by the committee the very next day by stating that only the Council of Ministers can vote for such a change to occur, and the process could take years to form and be acted upon, especially since translation alone accounts for 1% of the annual budget of the union. The debate and discussion has raised the question as to the realistic possibility of the notion taking place and its impact upon the general public. While one can’t literally be refused the right to speak English as and when they please, countries can enforce laws for immigrants seeking residence in the EU that require a minimum level of proficiency in the local language to attain a visa. English is seen as the common language of translation as well as communication not just in Europe but throughout the world, bridging gaps between cultures and traditions, and though the removal of it is possible on paper from the EU, chances of it not being used on an everyday basis in the region (even officially) are highly unlikely.
Andrie Steliou
Latest posts by Andrie Steliou (see all)
- 8 Ways to Help Keep Your Child Focused and Engaged in Online Learning - October 19, 2022
- How to Improve Social Intelligence Skills? - May 10, 2022
- How to Improve Organizational Skills at Workplace? - May 6, 2022