Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - Why english is the official language in Europe? Andaluz to the power

Skunk · 11-08-2003, 07:31 AM

It always pains me when EU citizens display a lack of knowledge regarding the workings of the EU...

The EU has eleven official languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. The principle that all the EU's official languages are equal is enshrined in law in the following documents:

The Treaty establishing the European Community states that every citizen of the Union may write to the European institutions in one of the official languages and have an answer in the same language;

The first ever Regulation adopted by what was then the European Economic Community, in 1958, stipulates that all documents of general application shall be drafted in all the official languages.

www.europa.eu.int

In practice however, documents must first be written in one language (Origin), then translated (if not the same) to a 'common' language(Common), and then translated from this into all other languages (Destination).

This is a neccessary process because it would be impractical to require that all translaters are fluent in all 11 official languages (and the number of official languages is about to rise to 25).

There are three common languages defined in the EU (solely for the purposes of translation): English, French, German. Of the common languages documents, approximately 60% are written in English, 39% in French and 1% in German.

Some European politicians have taken to making announcements and speeches in English on the grounds that 56% of the EU population claim to be fluent in English - but their preference for English usage does not imply that English has become the sole official or defacto language of the EU.

Finally, Esperanto and latin were considered for the purpose of choosing one of the two as 'the official language' - but this was rejected many years ago. The over-riding reason for rejection was that the EU did not want a return to medieval times where only the highest educated (and rich) understood the language of government. Government should be accessible to all - and not just the élite.

Hope that this clarifies the issues.

[ 11-08-2003, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]

11-08-2003, 07:31 AM	#18
Skunk Banned User Join Date: September 3, 2001 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Age: 63 Posts: 1,463	It always pains me when EU citizens display a lack of knowledge regarding the workings of the EU... The EU has eleven official languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. The principle that all the EU's official languages are equal is enshrined in law in the following documents: The Treaty establishing the European Community states that every citizen of the Union may write to the European institutions in one of the official languages and have an answer in the same language; The first ever Regulation adopted by what was then the European Economic Community, in 1958, stipulates that all documents of general application shall be drafted in all the official languages. www.europa.eu.int In practice however, documents must first be written in one language (Origin), then translated (if not the same) to a 'common' language(Common), and then translated from this into all other languages (Destination). This is a neccessary process because it would be impractical to require that all translaters are fluent in all 11 official languages (and the number of official languages is about to rise to 25). There are three common languages defined in the EU (solely for the purposes of translation): English, French, German. Of the common languages documents, approximately 60% are written in English, 39% in French and 1% in German. Some European politicians have taken to making announcements and speeches in English on the grounds that 56% of the EU population claim to be fluent in English - but their preference for English usage does not imply that English has become the sole official or defacto language of the EU. Finally, Esperanto and latin were considered for the purpose of choosing one of the two as 'the official language' - but this was rejected many years ago. The over-riding reason for rejection was that the EU did not want a return to medieval times where only the highest educated (and rich) understood the language of government. Government should be accessible to all - and not just the élite. Hope that this clarifies the issues. [ 11-08-2003, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]