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Is Absolute Multilingualism Maintainable? the Language Policy of the European Parliament and the Threat of English As a Lingua Franca

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Is Absolute Multilingualism Maintainable? the Language Policy of the European Parliament and the Threat of English As a Lingua Franca Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Is absolute multilingualism maintainable? The language policy of the European Parliament and the threat of English as a lingua franca Supervisor: Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the Dr. Katrijn Maryns requirements for the degree of “Master in de Taal- en Letterkunde: Nederlands - Engels” by Caroline Bogaert 2010 - 2011 Preface For two years, I have been able to immerse myself in the language systems of the European institutions. Although I knew very little about the institutions and their functioning at first, I am happy that, because of this final dissertation, I have now gained in-depth knowledge in what appears to be an effervescent and almost magical secluded world. What might seem a dull and bureaucratic system, is actually a well-oiled machine that, without a doubt, is one of the world’s most powerful democracies. How this grand system employing thousands of citizens from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds can function so effectively, gained my interest and compelled me to investigate this matter. The results of my research can be read below. The critique on Europe’s multilingual system will never fade, but that does not mean that it should be forgotten what tremendous results this language regime has yielded in the past, and will keep doing so in the future. Writing a final dissertation has not always been an easy process and in that respect, it goes without saying that I would like to thank a few people who have helped me along the way. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Maryns, who helped me explore this topic from different angles and who was always available to provide me with constructive criticism. Also, I owe much gratitude to each of my interviewees and the other practitioners who have shared their opinions on this topic with me: Mr. Coolegem, Mr. de Corte, Ms. Mamadouh, Ms. Pitt, Mr. Richter and Mr. Wooding. It is self-evident that without the help of the seven people mentioned above, I would not have been able to write this thesis. Lastly, I would also like to thank Geert Bogaert, Martine Declercq, Tina Bogaert, Godelieve De Latte and Kevin De Pril for their continuous support. Table of Contents 1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Importance and purpose....................................................................................................1 1.2 Research questions............................................................................................................1 1.3 Outline and methodology..................................................................................................2 1.4 Main sources and preliminary research ............................................................................3 2. The language system of the European Union .....................................................................4 2.1 The global language system of the EU .............................................................................4 2.2 Current language regime of the European Parliament......................................................7 2.2.1 The European Parliament: sui generis?......................................................................7 2.2.2 Institutional framework for the European language policy: an overview..................9 2.2.2.1 Regulation 1/58.......................................................................................................9 2.2.2.2 Criticism on Regulation 1/58................................................................................10 2.2.2.3 Controlled full multilingualism – the Podestà report............................................10 2.2.2.4 Controlled full multilingualism in the Code of Conduct ......................................11 2.2.3 DG Interpretation and DG Translation: units that guarantee multilingualism ........11 2.2.3.1 Directorate-General Interpretation........................................................................11 2.2.3.2 Directorate-General Translation ...........................................................................13 2.3 Future enlargements........................................................................................................14 2.3.1 Turkey......................................................................................................................15 2.3.2 Croatia......................................................................................................................16 2.3.3 The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia........................................................17 2.3.4 Iceland......................................................................................................................18 2.3.5 Montenegro ..............................................................................................................19 3. The use of English in the EU ............................................................................................21 3.1 English as a lingua franca ...............................................................................................21 3.1.1 Figures......................................................................................................................22 3.1.2 Competing languages as a lingua franca..................................................................24 3.1.3 Consequences...........................................................................................................25 3.2 In the Union ....................................................................................................................27 i Is absolute multilingualism maintainable? The language policy of the European Parliament and the threat of English as a lingua franca 3.2.1 Figures......................................................................................................................27 3.2.2 Competing languages as a lingua franca..................................................................28 3.2.3 Why English?...........................................................................................................29 3.2.4 Consequences...........................................................................................................29 3.3 Artificial languages as a lingua franca............................................................................30 4. Literature study: theoretical perspective...........................................................................32 4.1 Current debate: “The more languages, the more English” (de Swaan 2001) .................33 4.2 Acknowledgement of the problem..................................................................................35 4.2.1 The Union does not take the problem seriously.......................................................35 4.2.2 Problems will arise in the future ..............................................................................36 4.2.3 Lack of clear language policy..................................................................................36 4.3 Solutions offered.............................................................................................................37 4.3.1 Review of the multilingualism-system ....................................................................37 4.3.2 One single working language...................................................................................37 4.3.3 Limited number of working languages ....................................................................38 4.4 Is the debate exaggerated? ..............................................................................................39 4.4.1 Acknowledgement of the problem...........................................................................39 4.4.2 Solutions ..................................................................................................................41 4.4.3 English or an international auxiliary language as a lingua franca ...........................42 4.4.4 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................43 5. Interview data: the gap between theory and practice........................................................44 5.1 The context of the interviews..........................................................................................44 5.2 Acknowledgement of the problem..................................................................................45 5.3 Solutions .........................................................................................................................46 5.4 English or an international auxiliary language as a lingua franca ..................................48 5.5 Future perspectives .........................................................................................................49 5.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................50 6. Discussion: future developments ......................................................................................53 6.1 Different working languages...........................................................................................53 6.2 English as a lingua franca ...............................................................................................54 ii Is absolute multilingualism maintainable? The language
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