Interventions: Recent language developments in the EU

Abstract

Eurobarometer survey on Europeans and their languagesThe Special Eurobarometer (386) survey on 'Europeans and Their Languages' was carried out in spring 2012. Almost 27,000 people were interviewed face-toface in their mother tongue. All 27 Member States were covered and those taking part represented different social and demographic groups. The key findings set out in the executive summary are:- In accordance with the EU population, the most widely spoken mother tongue is German (16%), followed by Italian and English (13% each), French (12%), then Spanish and Polish (8% each).- For the majority of Europeans their mother tongue is one of the official languages of the country in which they reside.- Just over half of Europeans (54%) are able to hold a conversation in at least one additional language, a quarter (25%) are able to speak at least two additional languages and one in ten (10%) are conversant in at least three.-Almost all respondents in Luxembourg (98%), Latvia (95%), the Netherlands (94%), Malta (93%), Slovenia and Lithuania (92% each) and Sweden (91%) say that they are able to speak at least one language in addition to their mother tongue.- Countries showing the most notable increases in the proportion of respondents saying that they are able to speak at least one foreign language well enough to hold a conversation, compared to data from the previous edition of the Eurobarometer survey, are Austria (+16 points to 78%), Finland (+6 points to 75%) and Ireland (+6 points to 40%).- In contrast the proportion able to speak at least one foreign language has decreased notably in Slovakia (-17 points to 80%), the Czech Republic (-12 points to 49%), Bulgaria (-11 points to 48%), Poland (-7 points to 50%) and Hungary (-7 points to 35%). In these countries there has been a downward shiftsince 2005 in the proportions able to speak foreign languages such as Russian and German.- Few countries show a noticeable increase in the proportion of respondents able to speak at least two foreign languages, with the most marked being in Italy (+6 points to 22%) and Ireland (+5 points to 18%).- However, nine Member States show a significant drop of more than 5 points: Belgium (-16 points to 50%), Hungary (-14 points to 13%), Bulgaria (-12 points to 19%), Poland (-10 points to 22%), Portugal (-10 points to 13%), Malta (-9 points to 59%), Luxembourg (-8 points to 84%), Denmark (-8 points to 58%) and Estonia (-6 points to 52%).- Countries where respondents are least likely to be able to speak any foreign language are Hungary (65%), Italy (62%), the UK and Portugal (61% in each) and Ireland (60%).-The five most widely spoken foreign languages remain English (38%), French (12%), German (11%), Spanish (7%) and Russian (5%).-At a national level English is the most widely spoken foreign language in 19 of the 25 Member States where it is not an official language (i.e. excluding the UK and Ireland).-The majority of Europeans who speak English, German, Spanish and Russian as a foreign language believe that they have better than basic skills. Ratings of skill level are broadly similar to those seen in the 2005 survey.- Just over two-fifths (44%) of Europeans say that they are able to understand at least one foreign language well enough to be able to follow the news on radio or television. English is the most widely understood, with a quarter (25%) of Europeans able to follow radio or television news in the language. French and German are mentioned by 7% of respondents each, followed by Spanish (5%), Russian (3%) and Italian (2%).- Europeans are just as likely to be able to read a newspaper or magazine article in a foreign language with just over two-fifths (44%) of Europeans saying they can. Again English is the most widespread foreign language, with a similar proportion of Europeans (25%) able to read a newspaper or magazine article in the language. French is mentioned by 7% and German by 6% of Europeans. …