European Day of Languages

Objectives

The general objectives of the European Day of Languages ​​are:

• Alert the public to the importance of language learning and Diversify the ranks of languages Learned in order pour augmenter plurilingualism and intercultural understanding ;
• To promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe;
• Encourages lifelong language learning in and out of school.

In keeping with these rules, people, young and old, are encouraged to take up a language, or take special pride in their existing language skills. Also, those responsible for providing access to language learning are encouraged to make it easier for people to learn a range of languages, and to support policy initiatives to promote languages. There is also emphasis on learning a language other than English.

Europe, ^[2] [3] including those for children, television and radio programs, language classes and conferences. The events are not organized by the Council of Europe or the European Union nor do they allocate special funding for the day. Member states and potential partners are given a free hand to organize activities. To coordinate the activities organized at the national level, the Council of Europe, to nominate „National Relay Persons“ for the day. The national relay in the UK used to be CILT, the National Center for Languages. ^[4]

Languages ​​of Europe

There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe – roughly 3% of the world’s total ^{[ citation needed ]} . Most of the European languages are of Indo-European origin. Since the end of the 18th century, The Most Widespread language of Europe (both in terms of geography and the number of native speakers) has-been Russian , French qui REPLACED. Counting only native speakers, approximately 150 million Europeans speak Russian on a daily basis, followed by German (approx 95 mil.), English and French (each by 65 mil.), Italian (60 mil.), Spanish andPolish (40 mil each), Ukrainian (30 mil) and Romanian (26 mil). As far as foreign language studies are concerned, English is currently the most popular language in Europe, followed by German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

Multilingualism today

According to the European Union survey „Europeans and their Languages“ („Special Eurobarometer 243“, February 2006), ^[5] 56% of EU citizens speak a language other than their mother tongue , but 44% admit to not knowing any languages ​​other than their native language . However, 28% have knowledge of two foreign languages. Among EU citizens, 38% indicate that they know English , followed by 14% knowing French or German, 7% Russian, 5% Spanish and 3% Italian. The typical multilingual European is a student or someone holding a managerial position or someone born in a country where the language of his / her parents is different from the main language of the country.

With greater numbers of immigrants and refugees , European cities have become more multilingual. ^[ when? ] For example: in Moscow and Saint Petersburg many recent immigrants speak Ukrainian , Moldovan , Armenian , Tatar , Azeri , Tajik , Chinese or one of many other languages; in London some 300 languages ​​are spoken ( English , French , Chinese , Polish , Russian ,Spanish , Portuguese , Arabic , Bengali , Turkish , Kurdish , Berber , Hindi , Urdu , Punjabi etc.).

The European Union is adhering to a policy of multilingualism, both in its institutional workings and in favor of its citizens. At the 2002 EU summit in Barcelona , it was a target for children to learn at least two foreign languages ​​from an early age. ^[6] Multilingualism for the EU is linked to worker mobility and the European economy. The European Union spends more than € 30 million on language learning and linguistic diversity through the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programs, a policy that began with the pioneering Lingua program in 1990.

See also

• Education in the European Union
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• Languages ​​of the European Union
• Multilingualism

References