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European integration and the variety of languages

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Claude Barbier

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

While formal EU law acknowledges the equality of the 24 languages of the Member States, practice has sanctioned the blatant hegemony of the English language over the years, and the United Kingdom has now decided to leave the European Union. Most social scientists do not care about this situation. As members of a trans-European elite, they privilege the certainties of a standardised European English over the strict demands of science and truth that need pluri-lingualism. But there is more to pluri-lingualism than being an indispensable vector to rigorous social science. Language is also indispensable for politics and, as politics is now made in English in the European Union, non-speakers of English now face exclusion from full participation in politics. Contrary to received wisdom, this concerns the majority of European citizens. One key obstacle to the modification of language practices across the Union lies in the structural features of EU law itself, with regard to its very conception of language as a discriminating instrument.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Claude Barbier, 2018. "European integration and the variety of languages," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01981047, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01981047
    DOI: 10.1075/wlp.6.14bar
    as

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