Eurospeak

We may laugh at hotel notices like "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for" (Switzerland) or "Please leave your values at the front desk" (France), but Britain is more closely linked to Europe than many people realise. The country's mother tongue is fast becoming the universal foreign language of Europeans. Part of the reasons for its popularity is that English is the "pop-speak": many European artists and groups make recordings in English or besprinkle their lyrics with catchy English words like baby, maybe, happy.

In the early 1980s, the French Minister of Culture, Jacques Lang I think, wanted to restrict the number of British and American records that radio stations and discos could play, but had to abandon the idea because they would all have gone bankrupt. Not surprisingly,many words to do with an Anglo-American youth-culture have passed into the languages of Europe. Russians play their diski and Italians listen to long playings. Russian teenagers put on their shoozy (trainers) to joggen (German) or to watch hoki (Hungarian = ice-hockey) .

Another strain of Eurospeak arises,indirectly, from the motivation of many young Europeans to improve thair job prospects - since learning English is a passport to  wider horizons or higher status. Career ads in many European newspapers are often formulated in English and often demand ..."a working knowledge of English"! I was surprised to read in a French newspaper - La Libération - that English is the official language in Spain. When I visited Spain a couple of years ago, no one at the hotel spoke or understood English! It seems that French, though traditionally influential there, is fast declining in prestige. In Germany, Greece and Cyprus English is big business, whether in boom or crash. At street level, we can see fastfood, cocktail bar and check-outs.

Although there are seven other official languages in the EU, English is by far the most commonly used. , and English Euro-jargon abounds among the Eurocrats and Euro-MPs in their Euro-quangos. Wittingly or unwittingly, the French and Swedish, Germans , Greeks and Dutch are being exposed to English in all aspects of their lives, in all media, and are fast becoming sort of ..bilingual!

Not everyone sees Euro English as a welcome development. Most aggressive have been the tactics at a high level of the French government. There are vigilant committees which actively recommend the replacement of English words by purer, native forms : jumbo-jet by gros-porteur, fast food by prêt-à-manger download by télécharger etc. Some effort to exclude English words from the native language has also been made in Greece. Ταχυφαγεία instead of fast food, Ιστιολόγιο instead of blog. Κυκλικός κόμβος instead of round-about, σταμάτα instead of  STOP (on the road).

For many years, the British banned the Irish from using their own language (Gaelic). There are now very few people who speak Gaelic as their mother tongue. To my mind this was one of the worst forms of crime - linguistic imperialism. And I applaud the effort of European governments to try and protect the purity of their national language. 

Comments

[Christina]

I think it's very important for all European countries to try to preserve the purity of their national language. Language is the mirror of our national character. Yet, I don't think it's a good idea to ban English or American pop music from clubs. Some of the greatest songs in the world come from England or the usa so why not enjoy them and support our favorite artists?

[Andreas]

When so many words in English have derived from Greek - most medical terms and all the words beginning with tele meaning far in ancient Greek, it is ridiculous to mix English in any European language.

[Anastasia]

I believe in the universality of the English language,yet eurospeak has, unfortunately produced a completely different "language".

[Anastasia]

Also music has made English more popular, especially amongst the younger generation. Restricting English pop music on the radio or in clubs won't really purify one's own native language.

[Philip]

I share your views and I applaud the effort of European governments to try and protect the purity of their national language. The English language which is spread worldwide is not because of the British though, but is due to the USA advanced technology. Almost every new technical term especially in computers comes from this country or at least from international companies owned by Americans. Hollywood, music, cinema, TV, P/C programs are made from USA. Therefore is a very hard time for the other languages. The British as always (for the time being) are lucky speaking the same language with Americans!!!

[Anastasia]

Undoubtedly, modern technology as well as music and movies from the USA have contributed enormously to spreading English across Europe but also in other continents such as Asia and Africa. What annoys me is the fact that the popularity of English in Europe has created a non-language as many non-native speakers of English in Europe tend to mix English words and phrases - often used incorrectly- with their national language.

[Andy]

The quantity of consonants in the English language is constant. If omitted in one place, they turn up in another. When a Bostonian "pahks" his "cah," the lost r's migrate southwest, causing a Texan to "warsh" his car and invest in "erl" wells!!! Oh my!

[Laura]

English has become popular since the 16th century when William Shakespeare introduced for the first time many words and expressions which we still use today. The introduction of English to the New World in the 17th century resulted in this hybrid language becoming the second oldest version of English-and the most widely spoken- American English.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1004522862]

Please do not overestimate the position of English.

I live in London and if anyone says to me “everyone speaks English” my answer is “Listen and look around you”. If people in London do not speak English then the whole question of a global language is completely open.

The promulgation of English as the world’s “lingua franca” is impractical and linguistically undemocratic. I say this as a native English speaker!

Impractical because communication should be for all and not only for an educational or political elite. That is how English is used internationally at the moment.

Undemocratic because minority languages are under attack worldwide due to the encroachment of majority ethnic languages. Even Mandarin Chinese is attempting to dominate as well. The long-term solution must be found and a non-national language, which places all ethnic languages on an equal footing is essential.

As a native English speaker, my vote is for Esperanto :)

Your readers may be interested in seeing http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_YHALnLV9XU Professor Piron was a former translator with the United Nations

A glimpse of the global language,Esperanto, can be seen at http://www.lernu.net

[Anastasia]

Thank you very much for sharing these links. Esperanto - the language of hope. Please correct me if I am wrong, Esperanto is the language of peace, and it does promote communication amongst nations. But...how many people speak or understand this language? I certainly do not overestimate the position of English and I strongly disagree with mixing it up with one's own native language. Yet, on the other hand, English is the one and only language of international communication.

[Anastasia]

Not sure I can understand that very well..but for some reason it made me laugh1

[Anastasia]

I think it's important not to forget who the real father of the English language is - William Shakespeare - although I believe Chaucer paved the way before him.

[Bill Chapman]

It's good to see the discussion about language here. By the way I'm a speaker of Welsh, one of the Celtic languages on your tree.

In answer to your question, Esperanto hasn't yet gained the recognition it deserves. However, all things considered, it has actually done amazingly well. In just over 120 years, it has managed to grow from a drawing-board project with just one speaker in one country to a complete and living natural language with around 2,000,000 speakers in over 120 countries and a rich literature and cosmopolitan culture, with little or no official backing and even bouts of persecution. It hasn't taken the world by storm - yet - but it's slowly but surely moving in that direction, with the Internet giving it a significant boost in recent years. I'm actually quite optimistic about its future, even if we have to wait a while to see it fulfilled.

Personally, I’ve made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. And then there’s the Pasporta Servo, which provides free lodging and local information to Esperanto-speaking travellers in over 90 countries. In the past few years I have had guided tours of Berlin and Milan and Douala in Cameroon in the planned language. I have discussed philosophy with a Slovene poet, humour on television with a Bulgarian TV producer. I’ve discussed what life was like in East Berlin before the wall came down, how to cook perfect spaghetti, the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, and so on.

Esperanto is not as widespread as as English, it is true,but it does possess a very structured linguistic community, a kind of diaspora which is very useful to the traveller and people seaking overseas contacts.

I know from experience that finding an English speaker is not always easy. I've been lost in rural Bulgaria and looking for a bus stop in Italy,and I failed to find a speaker of English. In each case I had to call my local Esperanto contact for assistance.

[Anastasia]

Hi Bill and thanks a lot for your very constructive comment and the information on Esperanto. It would be bliss to see Esperanto develop as an international language, but please allow me to have my doubts. As far as I know, and despite its long history, Esperanto hasn't been recognized as an official language anywhere - the moment when about 380 million speak English as a native language and more than 600 million people from all over the world use English as an international language of business and generally of communication. Not to mention IT technology. As far as I know, Esperanto is basically an indo-european language with slavic phonetics which makes it hard for the average European to learn. This is why I believe it will never replace English as a purely international language. Right now , Esperanto is a kind of auxiliary language. Surely, Esperanto can really help promote better understanding amongst nations, but how many non-native speakers of English would give up learning English and learn Esperanto instead? Only the future can tell.