The EU and English as a “Lingua Franca”

The tension between unity versus multiplicity seems to be at the heart of the European Union (EU) and of translation studies (TS). Indeed, a significant parallel between the two is the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF). The EU appears to be torn between a notion of language as a crucial element of one’s identity on the one hand, and a predominantly instrumental, Lockean view of language, on the other. A similar dynamic appears to take place in TS, an area that is par excellence heterogeneous and in which the notion of difference plays a paramount role. Indeed, at times TS appears to be afflicted by a sense of self-consciousness regarding its lack of unity and homogeneity. According to some, the solution is to foster the standardisation of its methods and terminology. But would proposing standardised terminology in a standardised language for the area not inevitably entail repressing different approaches in different languages? The paper explores this question in the context of the use of English as a lingua franca, and proposes various ways out of the dilemma both for the EU and TS.

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Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198796886.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Lacey

Keyword(s):

Identity Formation ◽

Political Identity ◽

Democratic Legitimacy ◽

Comparative Approach ◽

Common Language ◽

Political Systems ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Democratic Systems ◽

Political Communities ◽

The Eu

This introduction presents the central problematic of the book, justifies the comparative approach that is employed in later parts of the project, and outlines the main arguments developed throughout the work. The problematic is referred to as the lingua franca thesis on sustainable democratic systems (LFT), which predicts problems for democratic legitimacy and political identity formation for political communities that operate without a common language. As multilevel and multilingual political systems with claims to democratic legitimacy, Belgium and Switzerland are identified as two of the best available cases to test the validity of the LFT, with a view to informing the nature of and prospects for democratic legitimacy in the EU.

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Identity regionalism and English as an ASEAN lingua franca

Journal of English as a Lingua Franca ◽

10.1515/jelf-2016-0018 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Azirah Hashim ◽

Jagdish Kaur ◽

Tan Siew Kuang

Keyword(s):

Functional Role ◽

Mutual Understanding ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Characteristic Features ◽

The Many ◽

The Eu

AbstractThe ASEAN Charter refers to English as the “working language of ASEAN,” a situation different from the EU that has a multiplicity of official and working languages. It has been argued that English, as a foreign “working language,” does not have an emotive value to it as it has merely a functional role. This, however, may change as many people in ASEAN speak a particular variety of English, especially those from countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Brunei. Even in countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which had not been colonised by the British, many learn English today and see it as vital for survival in many domains and especially with the forming of the ASEAN community and ASEAN integration. This ASEAN English is different from the many varieties in the region in that it does not possess the national and ethnic characteristics that varieties do. ASEAN English appears to possess its own characteristic features, often with an avoidance of features that are found in national varieties to aid mutual understanding between members who come from different ASEAN societies. This paper examines informal interactions between ASEAN speakers from the Asian Corpus of English. It analyses the features that create rapport and illustrates that ELF has an emotive value and does not merely play a functional role in ASEAN.

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Unity in Diversity. The Language Policy of the European Union

Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric ◽

10.2478/slgr-2014-0037 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 151-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Language Policy ◽

English Language ◽

Common Ground ◽

Research Question ◽

The European Union ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Unity In Diversity ◽

The Law ◽

The Eu

Abstract This paper explores the connections between the law and language in the European Union. The paper concerns the language policy of the European Union (EU) and English language priority. The EU faces challenges of finding a common ground for respecting the diversity of its members. So many different states are gathered in one organisation which establishes the law for diversified legal orders. The research question is - which language(s) is or should be used in the EU? Does English become lingua franca of the EU?

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The Syrian Post-Revolutionary Art: The Lingua Franca of the EU

Studia Migracyjne – Przegląd Polonijny ◽

10.4467/25444972smpp.20.035.12599 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (3 (177)) ◽

pp. 127-136

Author(s):

Ksenia Prosyukova

Keyword(s):

Artistic Expression ◽

Political Crisis ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Safe Life ◽

Revolutionary Art ◽

The Eu

The Syrian political crisis that swept through the country caused a fierce, exhausting, destructive war and forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to leave their homes in search of a safe life, though full of deprivation. Many of them have settled in the EU. According to psychologists, the level of stress that a person experiences during the process of adaptation to a new environment and integration into a new society is enormous and equal to 8 (on a scale from 1 to 10), which certainly affects many aspects of life, including the artistic potential. The aim of this study is to analyze the art of the Syrian descendants which is currently becoming a new way of communication and helps to discuss problems in those fields where the artistic expression is more effective than the verbal means of communication.

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Conclusion to Part II

10.1093/oso/9780198796886.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Lacey

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Political System ◽

Special Kind ◽

Political Community ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Public Spheres ◽

European Democracy ◽

Insurmountable Obstacle ◽

The Eu

This part of the project was dedicated to providing a) an account of the European political community and regime and b) an assessment of the quality of the democratic relationship between these two components of the EU political system. It is clear that the EU is a special kind of political system, characterized as a demoi-cracy, which suffers from serious democratic deficiencies. The question now becomes whether or not it is possible to significantly improve upon the EU’s democratic credentials in light of the challenge to democracy posed by the LFT. A great deal hinges on the answer to this question. If the LFT is an insurmountable obstacle to European democracy, so long as there are linguistically divided public spheres, then we must either a) give up on a democratically legitimate EU or b) seek a singular public sphere for Europe by encouraging the development of a lingua franca. While the latter option ...

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Language policy in the European Union

Language Problems & Language Planning ◽

10.1075/lplp.30.1.03chr ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 21-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Pia Vanting Christiansen

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Language Policy ◽

Citizen Participation ◽

Mother Tongue ◽

Language Model ◽

The European Union ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Internal Working ◽

Multilingual Education ◽

The Eu

This article analyses some of the potential language policy scenarios in a democratic, integrated European Union. It examines how a functional multilingual, democratic, ecological language policy in the European Parliament may ensure equal participation in, and benefit from, democratic processes for both majority and minority language communities. How multilingualism is managed and language policy is formed will be crucial in creating the identity of a future European Union, which the author discusses through a reinterpretation of what the EU might stand for; summarised in the notions of an English Union, an Elite Union, an Equal Union or an Esperanto Union. Language policy issues are especially important with regard to education, as multilingual education could be viewed as a democratic tool safeguarding active citizen participation in an intergovernmental forum such as the EU. Based on a three-language model it is possible to sustain a secure ethnic identity or identities via teaching through the mother tongue(s), as well as by acquiring at least one lingua franca and additional languages through carefully planned and well-organised multilingual education. The article concludes, in the long term, that the optimal language policy alternative would be one employing a planned language (such as Esperanto) as lingua franca, as a relay language and as an internal working language for the EU institutions.

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