Linguae Europaeae

by Josh Erb | editor: Jessica Nicholas, PhD Candidate in French | Josh Erb is a Senior in Global Studies. Josh is interested in many topics related to cultural heritage, policy and identity, and was attracted to Celtic languages in a class session devoted to language endangerment and the revitalization of insular regional minority languages in Europe (418). In this blog entry, he makes an inspiring plea for revitalizing the seriously endangered Celtic language of Manx.  In 1974, Edward ("Ned") Maddrell, the last native speaker of Manx Gaelic, died . “So what?” you would be tempted to ask. Why should anyone be concerned with the loss of one language in a world that has approximately 6,500 or more? What significance does the loss of a man named Ned Maddrell and his mother tongue have for the rest of us? In our globalized world, we are often hard-pressed to find answers to these questions. This is especially true for those of us who were blessed with being native spe...

by Jessica Nicholas | François Hollande, France’s new President, has promised to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, guaranteeing protection and active support for regional languages in Europe.  Hollande’s campaign had vigorous support from groups advocating for official recognition of regional languages (such as Occitan and Breton ) due to his expressed support for ratifying the Charter during his candidacy.  He did state, however, that the French language should be protected. What is the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and why has this question become a campaign issue? The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( click here for full text in English) is a convention adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 1992.   (You can read the explanation on the Council of Europe’s website here .) The Council of Europe summarizes it thus: “The Charter is a convention designe...

by Natasha Sharp | editors:  Alessia Zulato (PhD candidate in French) Zsuzsanna Fagyal (Associate Professor of French) | En 1992, le Conseil de l’Europe a voulu promouvoir et protéger des langues régionales et minoritaires qui sont en voie de disparition. Le Conseil de l’Europe a donc établi un traité international, La Charte Européenne des langues régionales ou minoritaires , pour inciter les états européen à préserver leurs langues locales qui font partie du patrimoine historique et culturel l’Europe. La Charte prévoit la protection et la promotion des langues utilisées traditionnellement par les minorités historiques et territoriales. La Charte confère à ces langues un statut et elle oblige les états qui la ratifient de prendre des mesures de protection pour préserver les langues dans les régions où elles sont parlées. Le texte de ce traité explique que les pays européens doivent permettre à leurs ressortissants d’utiliser leurs langues régionales ou minori...

by Dora Lee | editors: Jessica Nicholas (PhD candidate in French) Zsuzsanna Fagyal (Associate Professor of French) | “Où se trouve la bibliothèque?” [Where is the library ?] “Up the street two blocks, turn to your right, just pass Burger King and you’re right there.” “Je vous ai dit, “Où se trouve la bibliothèque?” [I’m asking: Where is the library?] “And I told you, up two blocks, to your right, right past Burger King.  Don’t you understand English?" We don’t often anticipate someone responding to us in a language other than the one we’ve spoken to them in.  Even if they’re just telling us that no, they don’t in fact speak our language, they usually manage to muddle through our language well enough to inform us that they just can’t muddle through it any longer.  Not so in Ireland, apparently, where muddling through just doesn’t seem to cut it! Irish Language Commissioner Seán Ó Cuirreáin has recently issued a report detailing the rise in com...

Se gli Italiani possono farlo, perché non l'Unione? If the Italians could do it, why not the EU? by Orion Meyer | editor: Alessia Zulato (PhD Candidate in French) | L'Italia non è una nazione di una sola lingua, ma di tantissime lingue. Come mostrato dalle sequenti mappe, ci sono dialetti regionali, locali, etc. [1]   http://www.kidseurope.com/Newsletter/LanguagesofItaly.htm   Questa cosa potrebbe causare un numero di problemi senza limiti. Ma c'è una lingua franca per la nazione – L'Italiano. La lingua è parlata dalla gran maggioranza del popolo [2] perché senza una lingua comune, il governo e il paese non funziona. Ma con una lingua franca, tutti i cittadini  hanno l'opportunità e l'abilità di comunicare facilmente. Questa cosa è importan-tissima per una nazione con divisione dietro ogni angolo. Il parallelismo fra Italia e L'Unione Europea è questo – ci sono tantissime lingue dei cittadini, ma c'è anche un governo centrale. Oggi, ...