Linguistic diversity
The European Parliament considered Europe’s richness in language diversity on the eight European Day of Languages and backed Members of the European Parliament backed proposals for EU citizens to be proficient in at least two foreign languages.
The European Parliament news announcement states:
“Linguistic diversity is intrinsic to the EU with its 500 million citizens, 23 official languages, 60 regional and minority languages and 3 alphabets. No regional or global body uses as many official languages as the European Parliament. "The linguistic diversity of Europe is part and parcel of our cultural wealth and heritage....and must be protected," Parliament's President Hans-Gert Pöttering said in parliament on Thursday.
Celebrate linguistic diversity every day
The EP celebrates multilingualism every day with every MEP allowed to speak in their official language of choice from Maltese to Finnish - making the parliament the largest employer of interpreters and translators in the world along with the European Commission. "Linguistic diversity is an opportunity rather than a barrier as it was in the past, it is a trump card and the foundation of our day-to-day work here," Mr Pöttering said.
All parliamentary documents are published in all official EU languages - which will amount to around 2 million pages in 2008. In comparison, the epic novel "War and Peace" is only 1392 pages.
The EP's website is updated with news and useful information in 22 languages every day, while the recently-launched EuroparlTV is the most ambitious audiovisual project in the world in linguistic terms, providing TV programs in more than 20 languages.
The way ahead
The Parliament backs proposals for all EU citizens to be proficient in at least two foreign languages as a way to improve communication, mutual understanding and foster mobility and economic competitiveness. Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban will outline the project to the Culture Committee in October.”
The European Parliament in focus article titled; European Parliament – never lost in translation explains how this is achieved within the European Parliament
The EU at a glance portal provides one with an opportunity to hear and read each of the official languages of the European Union.
The linguistic diversity of Europe provides not just a challenge to developing the European Information Society and Knowledge economy through the re-use of public sector information but also a huge opportunity which would help Europe meet the March 2000 Lisbon Strategy on ensuring Europe will be a leading Knowledge Economy by 2010!
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