Social media and the institutional illusions of EU communication

Abstract

Fifteen years ago, the illusions of equality and equivalence were identified as cornerstones of EU translation. This paper revisits these concepts from a contemporary point of view. Several new official languages have been introduced, a new communication policy has been adopted, and social media tools have entered the field of EU communication. Particular emphasis is placed on virtual linguistic landscapes in the EU blogosphere and social media networks, and on the emerging language policy identifiable from the language practices in them. The analysis of language choices in Commissioners' blogs, the European Commission's Facebook profile, EUtube and EuroparlTV indicates that, to further the aim of creating a European public sphere, communication practices are shifting from the policy of multilingualism towards a hegemonic language policy where English dominates.