# European Day of Languages



## karuna

Today is the European Day of Languages, as reported here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Day_of_Languages

Interesting fact that in total there are 225 indigenious languages in Europe, which is only 3% of the world's total. Most of them are Indo-European languages which doesn't come as a surprise. 

Larger part (56%) of the EU citizens are bilingual. It would be interesting to compare with other parts of the world.

Cheers,
Karuna


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## Etcetera

Oh, what a nice holiday! Thank you for the information, Karuna. 
The number of bilingual EU citizens is impressive. Unfortunately, Russia can't boast anything like that, and the situation differs greatly in different parts of the country. In the two capitals and major cities there are far more learners of foreign languages than in remote regions of the country.


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## sound shift

What are we supposed to do on this European Day of Languages?


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## übermönch

sound shift said:


> What are we supposed to do on this European Day of Languages?


Let's celebrate our prensence of vocal chords and start talking non-stop!


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## karuna

Many people resent that there are different languages in the world as they consider it to be the source of conflicts, disagreements, wars and barriers to our advancement. Even in mythology the multitude of languages as in the story of the Tower of Babel is seen as a curse.

But we can prove that existance of many languages is not an obstacle to peace and cooperation. It necessitates us to learn other languages though, but the European example shows that it is quite possible. The more we are able to speak other languages, the better is our understanding of other cultures, traditions and values. It will benefit all people in the world.


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## UltimateDiscDork

Since this day is meant to promote pluralinguism (sp?), I believe that we should celebrate by either learning a new word in a different language, or attempting to have a conversation with a fellow citizen in a different language than the norm.  I announced the arrival of the lunchlady at my work today in Spanish.    Have fun y'all!!


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## Chazzwozzer

Wow, today is also the day of Turkish language, as you can see on our calendar.


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## maxiogee

sound shift said:


> What are we supposed to do on this European Day of Languages?



Speak European, of course!


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## justjukka

That's an interesting thing to recognize nationally.  I think I'll go with 
übermönch and speak non-stop!


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## french4beth

Congrats, Europe!

I'm embarrassed to say that I am considered to be unusual (for many reasons) but particularly because I speak French fluently (although it wasn't spoken in the home). The fact that I have also studied Russian (a teeny bit of Spanish) and am currently learning a few Japanese phrases is astonishing to most people!

In my humble opinion, there are few Americans who can converse fluently in more than 1 language (other than recent immigrants). I'm embarrassed that I can only speak 2 languages!

Right now I'm listening to a Spanish music CD - although I can't understand much, I can still enjoy it.  How about if we all try & listen to/watch/read something in a language in which we are not fluent for today's celebration? Or you could always go to an ethnic restaurant or simply hit the ethnic foods section of your local market...


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## waspsmakejam

56% of EU citizens are bilingual, but only 30% of UK citizens.  We really bring the average down!


The European Day of Languages is wonderful.


Last years ago I saw a link about the European Day of Languages on the BBC website and clicked on it.  I felt very guilty that I spoke only English but the website was very encouraging and convinced me anyone can learn a language if they try hard enough.  I resolved to be a good European and learn an EU language.


I chose French because I love French movies and pop music, and I’m interested in French politics.


I did the BBC online beginners French course, and half-way through that I signed up for a beginners French course with the Open University.  Its strange - my motivation is so serious and I've worked very hard, but I've had lots of fun!.  


This year, as well as revising for my oral examination which is on Saturday, I have celebrated the day by making my first post on these forums in French.  The  European Day of Languages makes me very brave, I wonder what I'll do next year?


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## Alxmrphi

To me it just seems like everything gets a day now, it's a nice idea but VERY pointless.


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## gwrthgymdeithasol

french4beth said:


> In my humble opinion, there are few Americans who can converse fluently in more than 1 language



Or even 1 language :-D


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## Alxmrphi

Led by their president who once claimed to be able to speak Spanish.
One at a time George, get English over with first.


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## paulol

When I saw the figure of 56% for bilingualism in Europe, that surprised me.

But now I've just read that, according to the same study, 38% of UK citizens are supposedly bi- or multilingual, the only thing I can say is: utter crap!

There is absolutely *NO WAY* that 38% of British people are bi- or multilingual, unless you were to consider bi-/multilingualism as just being able to say "bonjour" or "gracias".

Less than 10% would seem more accurate to me (and nearly of all those people would probably either be from families who have immigrated to Britain and maintained their native language at home, or Welsh-speakers).

If the EU is going to waste our money carrying out these kinds of studies (and having pointless "European Day of...." days) they should at least employ some sober people to carry them out.


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## maxiogee

paulol said:


> There is absolutely *NO WAY* that 38% of British people are bi- or multilingual, unless you were to consider bi-/multilingualism as just being able to say "bonjour" or "gracias".



What about the Welsh, the Northern Irish and the Indian, Pakistani and peoples of other ethnicities who still speak their parental, or even grandparental languages?


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## Alxmrphi

Even counting those figures Tony I'm still unsure about that percentage.


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## gwrthgymdeithasol

maxiogee said:


> What about the Welsh, the Northern Irish and the Indian, Pakistani and peoples of other ethnicities who still speak their parental, or even grandparental languages?





Alex_Murphy said:


> Even counting those figures Tony I'm still unsure about that percentage.




Even including those the figure's still a gross exaggeration, as Paulol says. The British are *rubbish* at learning foreign languages, and every year the number of pupils taking them at A Level is declining, so the situation's getting worse.

(The Northern Irish? Surely you mean the southern (or western) Irish?)


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## maxiogee

gwrthgymdeithasol said:


> (The Northern Irish? Surely you mean the southern (or western) Irish?)



Do I?
I could have sworn that the UK government funds Irish language studies and activities in Northern Ireland. 
You may know differently.


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## gwrthgymdeithasol

maxiogee said:


> Do I?
> I could have sworn that the UK government funds Irish language studies and activities in Northern Ireland.
> You may know differently.



It probably does -- to try to get someone (anyone!) in NI to try to learn the language!


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## paulol

According to "A Survey of the Welsh Language, 1992 Welsh Social Survey" there were only some 370,000 fluent Welsh speakers in Wales, which is about 0.6% of the UK population.
The number of fluent Gaelic speakers in Northern Ireland is probably just a few thousand, if that.
Only 7.9% of the UK population is of non-British/Irish origin, with 1.8% Indian and 1.3% Pakistani, respectively (source: CIA handbook), so even if we included the entire ethnic minority population of the UK as being multilingual (which obviously it isn't) that would still only be 7.9%.
Incidentally, according to the same EU study, the only country with a worse level of bi-/multilingualism in Europe is Ireland, which has two official languages.
But in my opinion the results from that study are total rubbish anyway.


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## maxiogee

I worry about this, and other types of research, where the respondent decides the level of proficiency.
Citizen's knowledge of the Irish language is measured in our five-yearly census is a self-assessment question and any result produced is highly suspect.


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## paulol

maxiogee said:


> I worry about this, and other types of research, where the respondent decides the level of proficiency.


I agree with you on that, but I can't even imagine that 38% of UK citizens would claim to be bi- or multilingual, that's why the figure totally baffles me.


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## sound shift

Could it be that the people in charge of the survey classed as bilingual all those Britons who claimed *some *knowledge of a second language?


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## karuna

But you study at least one foreign language at school starting from the 4th grade, don't you? Maybe bilingual is not the correct word, as it actually refers to one who can use both languages with equal proficiency, but in the survey it simply says "to be able to hold a conversation" which depending on what you consider "a conversation" may be a very basic level indeed. Hey, I was able to hold a basic conversation in Hindi – asking for directions, buying things etc., when I was in India. With the help of dictionary, of course, but it was a great help when people didn't speak any English at all and very meaningful conversations took place. I never seriously studied the language except for casual interest, and I don't consider myself even on the most basic level. Yet others might if it is their only achievement in foreign languages.


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## Alxmrphi

karuna said:


> But you study at least one foreign language at school starting from the 4th grade, don't you? Maybe bilingual is not the correct word, as it actually refers to one who can use both languages with equal proficiency, but in the survey it simply says "to be able to hold a conversation" which depending on what you consider "a conversation" may be a very basic level indeed. Hey, I was able to hold a basic conversation in Hindi – asking for directions, buying things etc., when I was in India. With the help of dictionary, of course, but it was a great help when people didn't speak any English at all and very meaningful conversations took place. I never seriously studied the language except for casual interest, and I don't consider myself even on the most basic level. Yet others might if it is their only achievement in foreign languages.



Kids have to take French for 2 years, but it doesn't mean they listen or learn anything about it.


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## paulol

karuna said:


> But you study at least one foreign language at school starting from the 4th grade, don't you? Maybe bilingual is not the correct word, as it actually refers to one who can use both languages with equal proficiency, but in the survey it simply says "to be able to hold a conversation" which depending on what you consider "a conversation" may be a very basic level indeed. Hey, I was able to hold a basic conversation in Hindi – asking for directions, buying things etc., when I was in India. With the help of dictionary, of course, but it was a great help when people didn't speak any English at all and very meaningful conversations took place. I never seriously studied the language except for casual interest, and I don't consider myself even on the most basic level. Yet others might if it is their only achievement in foreign languages.


Hi, I'm not sure what the equivalent of 4th Grade is, but when I was at school a decade or so ago, you started learning French (the only language available at my school) in the first year of senior/high school, aged 11 or 12. When I took my French GCSE nearly five years later, I could barely string a sentence together in French, yet despite this almost managed to pass the exam (just to give you an idea of the standards in language teaching here...unless they've changed drastically in the last decade).
On the website I looked at about the study you mentioned, it explicitly talked about bilingualism and multilingualism, not just being able to hold a basic conversation, which I guess almost anyone could do in a pretty short period of time.
So, to sum up: 38% of UK citizens either bi- or multilingual and 56% of EU citizens bilingual... I just don't believe it.


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## karuna

Maybe in the UK they didn't know to translate these French questionnaires properly  but the data about Latvia is very likely. Practically all people here can speak both Latvian and Russian and now English is gradually replacing Russian. I have the same experience about Sweden where almost everybody was able to speak with me in English when I was there, and most travelers say the same about Germany.


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