LŐRINCZ JÁNOS ANDRÁS – DR. BRADEAN-EBINGER NELU GLOBISH IN EUROPE GROTIUS E-KÖNYVTÁR / 68. Table of contents 1. Introduction: Multilingualism in Europe ............................................................................................. 4 2. The languages of Europe: a general review ........................................................................................ 6 2.1. How many languages are there in Europe? .................................................................................. 7 2.1.1 Languages and dialects ........................................................................................................... 7 3. The language skills of Europeans and the role of English in the EU: ............................................... 10 3.1 Programs for linguistic diversity ................................................................................................. 10 3.2. The Eurobarometer survey ......................................................................................................... 11 3.2.1 Most spoken mothertongues ................................................................................................. 11 3.2.2 Most spoken foreign languages ............................................................................................ 11 3.3 The role of English ...................................................................................................................... 13 4. Linguistic diversity in the EU and its implications for its institutions .............................................. 14 4.1 The history of multilingualism in the institutions of the EU ....................................................... 15 4.2 The current situation .................................................................................................................... 15 4.2.1 Working languages and official languages ........................................................................... 16 4.2.2 Language use in the EU institutions ..................................................................................... 16 4.3 The implications of multilingualism in the EU-institutions: ....................................................... 17 5. Possible alternatives for multilingualism .......................................................................................... 18 5.1 Trilingualism ............................................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Monolingualism........................................................................................................................... 19 5.2.1 French ................................................................................................................................... 19 5.2.2 German: ................................................................................................................................ 20 5.2.3 English: ................................................................................................................................. 20 5.2.4 Artificial languages: Esperanto or Globish .......................................................................... 21 6. Artificial languages: .......................................................................................................................... 21 6.1 What are artificial languages? ..................................................................................................... 22 6.2. A priori ....................................................................................................................................... 23 6.2.1 Solresol ................................................................................................................................. 23 6.2.2 Other examples ..................................................................................................................... 24 6.3 A posteriori .................................................................................................................................. 24 6.4.The features of an ideal artificial language ................................................................................. 24 2 6.5.Volapük ....................................................................................................................................... 25 6.5.2 What is Volapük like? .......................................................................................................... 26 6.5.3 Why was Volapük not successful? ....................................................................................... 26 6.6 Esperanto ..................................................................................................................................... 27 6.6.1 A short history of Esperanto ................................................................................................ 28 6.6.2 The idea behind Esperanto ................................................................................................... 29 6.6.3 What is Esperanto like? ........................................................................................................ 29 6.6.4. Criticisms of Esperanto ....................................................................................................... 31 6.6.5 The afterlife of Esperanto ..................................................................................................... 31 6.7 Problems with artificial languages .............................................................................................. 32 6.7.1 Motivation: ........................................................................................................................... 33 6.7.2 The problem of identity ........................................................................................................ 33 6.7.3 Linguistic bias ...................................................................................................................... 34 6.7.4 Semantic differences ............................................................................................................ 34 6.7.5 Antagonism .......................................................................................................................... 34 6.7.6 The lack of military and political power .............................................................................. 34 6.8 Modified natural languages: ........................................................................................................ 35 7. Globish .............................................................................................................................................. 36 7.1 The elements of Globish .............................................................................................................. 37 7.2 Vocabulary: ................................................................................................................................. 38 7.2.1 The number of words............................................................................................................ 38 7.2.2 What is a word? .................................................................................................................... 40 7.2.3 The choice of words for Globish .......................................................................................... 42 7.2.4 Synonyms: ............................................................................................................................ 42 7.2.5 Spelling: ................................................................................................................................ 43 7.2.6 Almost synonymous words: ................................................................................................. 43 7.2.7 The lack of essential words .................................................................................................. 43 7.3 Concluding remarks on Globish: ................................................................................................. 46 8. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 47 References .................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Bibliography: ......................................................................................................................................... 54 Appendix: the 1500-word vocabulary of Globish ................................................................................. 55 3 1. Introduction: Multilingualism in Europe Language is one of the greatest assets of humanity. It allows us to exchange ideas, to express feelings and to preserve our culture. Preserving all the national languages contributes to preserving the national identities, as language is not merely a means of communication, but also a bearer of identity.1 Languages and lingua francas2 have always been important for the peoples of Europe. In different historical periods Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Russian and, for a short and strained period, German, had the European hegemony. The two World Wars of the 20th century and the creation of the international system brought a change into this historical pattern, which culminated in the creation of today’s European Union. The EU is based on the principle of democracy and non-discrimination,