Assignment 3: English in a Post-Brexit European Union

To speak English, or not to speak: that is the question.

With Brexit looming on the horizons, the future of English as an official and working language of the European Union seems uncertain. If Brexit does indeed happen, it will be hard for English to maintain its dominant status. Malta and Ireland are the only Member States that use English – alongside their indigenous languages (Maltese and Irish respectively) – as an official language. The next vote on Brexit is scheduled for October 31, 2019. Until then, we should already consider different linguistic options: Will the English language exit hand in hand with the United Kingdom? What about German and French? 

EFFICIENCY VS. EQUALITY
Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

First of all, it is important to understand the difference between an official and a working language. The national language of each Member State is considered an official language of the European Union. As of now, there are 24 official languages. Working languages – or procedural languages – are used in the day-to-day tasks. English, French, German and sometimes Spanish and Italian are considered working languages (Ammon, 2006, p. 321).  

In principle, there is supposed to be legal equality among all the official languages (Athanassiou, 2006, p. 5). Nonetheless, the distinction between working and official languages already gives hierarchy to European languages. For the sake of efficiency, working languages are used more often and hold a more dominant position (de Swaan, 2007). 

“The idea is widespread that all of these languages are equal in status on EU level, but they never have been in reality.”  (Ammon, 2006, p. 321)

Legally binding documents should be issued in all official languages because EU citizens have a right to read them in their mother tongue and they require precise understanding in the national courts. Nonetheless, one could debate about the status of working languages used within the institutions and in preparatory bodies. According to van Els (2005) “(r)estricting the number of working languages in daily use is … a normal phenomenon” (p. 269). We also have to question the future of English in a post-Brexit European Union. 

  • One working language: English

If the UK does exit the European Union, English would only be an official language in two smaller member sates (Malta and Ireland). However, in those countries English is not the only official language. Therefore, using English as a working language would ensure an equal playing field between all Member States. English would be an L2 for most people and there would be no disadvantages (Mondiano, 2017, p. 317).

In addition, there would be no extra costs associated with using simultaneous translation, no argument would be lost due to translational mistakes and the decision-making process could become faster. Moreover, if all legally binding documents were still issued in all official languages, the democratic rights would not be violated. 

  • All languages are working languages

In order to preserve the principle of equality all language should be considered and used as working languages. Nobody would be disadvantaged. In addition, multilingualism would enhance diversity and protect one of the founding principle of the Union: “Unity in diversity”.  

Populist leaders in the Member States often argue that the EU is making decisions above the heads of the people. By using all official languages as working languages, the EU could counter anti-European sentiments. 

  • Three working languages: English, French, German

In my opinion, the EU should keep three working languages. Using all language is not cost effective and having only one working language would infringe on the principle of equality. Therefore, the EU should apply the three most widely spoken languages – English, French and German – within the institution and in preparatory bodies. Only legally binding documents should be translated into all official languages.

Most European citizens know at least one of the three. The cost and time of translating would be reduced. Yet, people would still have the possibility to decide for themselves which one they want to use. In addition, using three languages could increase language learning and promote cross-border mobility (de Swaan, 2007).

WILL ENGLISH REMAIN OR EXIT?
Photo by Jessica D. Vega on Unsplash

Modiano (2017) proposes an interesting new answer to this question. He argues that a modified version of  mainstream English will emerge. He calls this new version Euro-English. It is a combination of “standardized English” and the native linguistic manners of people who speak English as an L2 (p. 322). 

I agree with the fact that there is more than one version of English (Englishes). Since so many people speak it – as L1 or L2 – it ought to change. Nonetheless, I do not agree with Modiano’s idea that Euro-English could turn into a new and codifiable language. He claims that mainstream English will become this new version because there will be no native English speakers in the EU institutions to “guard” the correct use of English. For me, this is hard to believe. 

I agree with the idea that despite Brexit, English will maintain its dominant position in the EU. The three distinctive reasons for this are as follows: (1) it is a global language used in commerce and trade, (2) many of the (smaller) Member States prefer English over other languages and (3) English is the language of the youth, technology and entertainment (Modiano, 2017)  

Although France and Germany might have hoped that their language could become the new dominant language, I do not think that English is going anywhere anytime soon. The youth of today – avid English users – will be making the decisions in the future. Therefore, English has a high chance of maintaining its dominant status in the EU and globally. Nonetheless, we should be open to change. A new dominant language might emerges in the future.

Please let me know what you think about this topic. Leave a comment below!

Best,

Monika 


A Little Extra: Hungarian Lesson 3

In this blog we talked about use of different languages in the European Union. Therefore, it seems appropriate to introduce the Hungarian names of different languages.

  • English – angol
  • Hungarian – magyar
  • German – német
  • French – francia
  • Spanish – spanyol
  • Italian – olasz
  • Dutch – holland 

2 Comments

  • Ella

    Great perspectives on English in the EU, and a nice shout out to Shakespeare. I like that you’re also giving us a quick Hungarian lesson 😉 keep it up.

    • Viktoria

      Very well chosen title! The text is very nicely structured. The idea with the lesson in Hungarian is very creative!

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