Language Issues in the EU
Here is a tentative list of language related questions. Please indicate which questions you might want to respond to. We would like to have the answers before February in 2006. - The same in esperanto
On translation and interpretation
- How much do the various organs of the EU pay for translation and interpretation?
- How many translators and interpreters work for the EU?
- How many A-4 size translated sheets are generated per month in the EU work?
- Just how does interpretation work in the EU parliament? Is a relay language sometimes used? If so, which one and how often?
- What are the experiences of the MEPs regarding translation and interpretation services?
On language situations in EU-organs
- What are the language situations like in the various organs of the EU? (I.e. both official decisions and the real-life practice.)
- Which languages does the Commission use at its meetings?
- Which of the official languages is/are used, and to what extent, at the sessions of the European parliament?
On language policy and language planning
- Who handles language policy in the EU? See
http://europa.eu.int/languages/
- What does the EU language policy specify? See http://europa.eu.int/languages/
- Is the language policy of the EU satisfactory? If not, what needs to be done to do better?
- How does this language policy affect the EU citizens?
- Is there any language policy in the framework of the EU universities?
- What does language planning mean? Grin - "probably in cooperation with a sociolinguist; my approach to language policy, being rooted in public policy analysis, sometimes ruffles feathers"
- Who handles language planning in the EU?
- What would be the advantages and disadvantages of having a common EU language alongside the national and ethnic languages? Grin
- Would English be suitable as a common language for the EU?
- Would French be suitable as a common language for the EU?
- Would Esperanto be suitable as a common language for the EU?
On language teaching
- What is the annual cost of language teaching in the EU?
- What is the annual language learning cost in each member state?
- How much does Britain earn through the teaching of English? France through the teaching of French? Germany through the teaching of German? Grin and Gazzola (Maybe)
- What have been the results of language teaching in the EU?
- What is the Bologna process and how has it been affecting the language situation in the EU?
Other questions
- Which are the biggest languages in the EU in terms of demography and in terms of number of users?
- Why is it English and French that are used most often by Eurocrats? (The answer should provide historical background.)
- Can users rely on the data at “Eurobarometer: Europeans and languages” ( http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleaseAction.do?reference=IP/05/1179&format=HTMO&aged=0)#uage=en&guiLanguage=en) ?
- What would be the result if one were to ask, not ‘Can you converse in English’, but ‘Can you win an argument in English’?
- What is the language situation in x? (x = each EU country) CH - Grin
- Is each language in the EU equally safe?
- Which linguistic identities are safe?
Please send comments to hokan@ikso.net.
