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European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages is celebrated annually on September 26th to promote language learning and linguistic diversity across Europe. It was established by the Council of Europe in 2001 to alert the public about the importance of being multilingual and to encourage lifelong language learning both in and out of school. Events are organized across Europe on this day, including language classes, conferences, and media programming, with the goal of celebrating Europe's many languages and cultures. Over 200 indigenous languages are spoken in Europe today, with English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish being the most widely studied foreign languages.

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Ionescu Cristina-Luciana
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246 views3 pages

European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages is celebrated annually on September 26th to promote language learning and linguistic diversity across Europe. It was established by the Council of Europe in 2001 to alert the public about the importance of being multilingual and to encourage lifelong language learning both in and out of school. Events are organized across Europe on this day, including language classes, conferences, and media programming, with the goal of celebrating Europe's many languages and cultures. Over 200 indigenous languages are spoken in Europe today, with English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish being the most widely studied foreign languages.

Uploaded by

Ionescu Cristina-Luciana
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages is 26 September, as proclaimed by the Council of


Europe on 6 December 2001, at the end of the European Year of Languages (2001), which
had been jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the European Union. Its aim is to
encourage language learning across Europe.

Objectives

The general objectives of the European Day of Languages are to:


1ｷ alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of
languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding;
2ｷ promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe;
3ｷ encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.
In keeping with these rules, people, young and old, are encouraged to take up a language,
or take special pride in their existing language skills. Also, those responsible for providing
access to language learning are encouraged to make it easier for people to learn a range of
languages, and to support policy initiatives to promote languages. There is also emphasis on
learning a language other than English.
On the occasion of the day, a range of events are organised across Europe, including
those for children, television and radio programmes, language classes and conferences. The
events are not organised by the Council of Europe or the European Union nor do they allocate
special funding (i.e. apart from their existing language programmes) for the day. Member
states and potential partners are given a free hand to organise activities. To coordinate the
activities organised at national level, the Council of Europe asks participating countries to
nominate "National Relay Persons" for the day. The national relay in the UK is CILT, the
National Centre for Languages.
Languages of Europe
There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe – roughly 3% of the world's total.
Most of the European languages are of Indo-European origin. Since the end of the 18th
century, the most widespread language of Europe (both in terms of geography and the number
of native speakers) has been Russian, which replaced French. Counting only native speakers,
approximately 150 million Europeans speak Russian on a daily basis, followed by German
(approx. 95 mil.), Turkish (approx. 80 mil.), English and French (each by 65 mil.), Italian (60
mil.), Spanish and Polish (40 mil. each), Ukrainian (30 mil.) and Romanian (26 mil.). As far as
foreign language studies are concerned, English is currently the most popular foreign
language in Europe, followed by German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish. One of the
smallest languages in Europe is Maltese (the national language of Malta).

Multilingualism today
According to the European Union survey "Europeans and their Languages" ("Special
Eurobarometer 243", February 2006), 56% of EU citizens (25 member states) speak a
language other than their mother tongue, but 44% admit to not knowing any languages other
than their native language. However, 28% have knowledge of two foreign languages. Among
EU citizens, 38% indicate that they know English, followed by 14% knowing French or
German, 7% Russian, 5% Spanish and 3% Italian. The typical multilingual European is a
student or someone holding a managerial position or someone born in a country where the
language of his/her parents is different from the main language of the country.
With greater numbers of immigrants and refugees, European cities have become more
multilingual. For example: in Moscow and Saint Petersburg many recent immigrants speak
Ukrainian, Moldovan, Armenian, Tatar, Azeri, Tajik, Chinese or one of many other languages;
in London some 300 languages are spoken (English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish,
Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi etc.).
The European Union adheres to a policy of multilingualism, both in its institutional workings
and as an aim for its citizens. At the 2002 EU summit in Barcelona, it set a target for children
to learn at least two foreign languages from an early age. Multilingualism for the EU is linked to
worker mobility and the European economy. The European Union spends more than €30
million a year promoting language learning and linguistic diversity through the Socrates and
Leonardo da Vinci programmes, a policy that began with the pioneering Lingua programme in
1990.

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