Multiculturalism in Europe
Integration should and can coexist with multiculturalism. In fact, “United in Diversity” is the motto of the EU. How does it mean in practice? Let’s have a look at the example below.
Example: EU language policy
The EU has 28 member states speaking 24 different languages. It requires all official documents to be translated into these 24 languages. And if a EU citizen makes a written inquiry to the EU, the EU must reply in his/her national language.
Do you know which language is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU? (Answer at bottom) Source: EU
EU’s 24 official languages:
|
Bulgarian 保加利亞語 |
French 法語 |
Maltese 馬爾他語 |
|
Croatian 克羅地亞語 |
German 德語 |
Polish 波蘭語 |
|
Czech 捷克語 |
Greek 希臘語 |
Portuguese 葡萄牙語 |
|
Danish 丹麥語 |
Hungarian 匈牙利語 |
Romanian 羅馬尼亞語 |
|
Dutch 荷蘭語 |
Irish 愛爾蘭語 |
Slovak 斯洛伐克語 |
|
English 英語 |
Italian 意大利語 |
Slovene 斯洛文尼亞語 |
|
Estonian 愛沙尼亞語 |
Latvian 拉脫維亞語 |
Spanish 西班牙語 |
|
Finnish 芬蘭語 |
Lithuanian 立陶宛語 |
Swedish 瑞典語
|
Answer: German (16% of EU population speak German as their mother tongue)
Extra:
Have you ever heard of Esperanto? It was an artificial language invented by a Polish chemist named L.L. Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century. It contains elements of various European languages but with much more simplified grammar. The objective is to make it easy enough for different nationals to pick up the language as quickly as possible. That way, it is hoped that they can have better communication and less conflict with each other.
