by Irina C. Ivan

Created on: September 25, 2009

Why languages are a reason of celebration in Europe

Each year, on 26th of September, Europe celebrates the Day of Languages. This tradition emerged in 2001, which was proclaimed the European Year of Languages.

The field of foreign languages is part of the EU authorities' preoccupations, taken into account the rich inheritance that the old continent holds from linguistic point of view. Although it is a relatively small territory, compared to other continents, Europe counts many different language-speaking communities and this fact often arises as a challenge for the efforts of creating an unique cultural and economic European space. Within the European Union, there are 23 official languages, after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, but at continental level, there are about 230 indigenous languages. All the languages spoken in Europe hold histories and cultures behind, being a part of the European peoples' paths.

In this context, "united in diversity" is an aim difficult to approach and to achieve.

On the other hand, Europeans besides being a diverse community of native speakers are also open to learning foreign languages. Especially in the territories where a non-international language is official, the level of knowing at least one foreign language is high. A distinct world from the languages point of view, Europe fully deserves a celebration of its linguistic dimension. But let's take a look at some interesting facts about the European linguistic landscape, that many of you may not be aware of:

Most European languages belong to the Indo-European family, deriving from Sanskrit. The most spoken mother tongues in Europe are: Russian, German, English, French and Italian, in this order. The non-European languages most widely used in the European territory are Arabic, Chinese and Hindi. Russia is the European territory where the highest number of languages is being spoken. Basque is the last remaining pre-Indo-European language in Europe. The languages spoken in Europe represent 3% of the amount of languages spoken globally. 56% of the European citizens claim to speak at least one language besides their native one, while 44% admit not speaking a foreign language.

As a foreigner traveling in Europe, if you speak English, rarely you will encounter problems because this is the second language for most of the Europeans. However, the multilinguism arises as a complex issue in Europe, relating to the need of preserving traditions, history and culture. David Crystal, an authority in linguistics, was saying that "everytime we lose a language, we lose one vision of the world".

Every time we think that the languages we know are enough because we are handling daily situations just fine, we let languages die and miss the opportunity envisioning the world differently. Learning a language, different from your native one, gives you the chance of comparing, making connections and seeing how people belonging to other cultures related to the surrounding world and various life experiences. Multilinguism is, in the end, a matter of self-identity because it helps you place yourself in a context and understand better who you are, where you come from, where are you heading. That's why, never settle to knowing one language, no matter how well you think you might be doing like this.

Is there a certain language you would like to speak, but don't have enough finances to attend a class? Learning a foreign language has never been easier. Come to Fluent Future and learn a language for free, meeting native speakers of the language you are seeking to learn, or pay rated teachers for individual lessons.

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