The Economics of Multilingualism in the EU

Abstract

In little more than half a century, the EU (including its predecessors) has undergone deep and wide-ranging transformations. It has grown from being a rather lose grouping of six Western European nations to include most European countries, spanning from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Iberian to the Balkan peninsula. In the process, the European Union has become increasingly heterogenous. It now counts 27 member countries with diverse historical legacies (from the Roman Empire in the West to the Russian and Ottoman Empires in the East), dramatically different levels of economic development (ranging from rich Luxembourg to poor Bulgaria), various cultural and religious traditions, and a multitude of languages. On the last criterion, the diversity of Europe is perhaps at its most evident: the EU counts 23 official languages at present, compared with just four at the time of its founding. The list of official EU languages includes some that are spoken by large numbers of people in Europe: German is spoken by approximately 85 million Europeans while English, French and Italian are each spoken by around 60 million. Some of the official EU languages are also spoken widely outside of Europe: besides English, Spanish and Portuguese are notable examples. On the other hand, several of the official languages are spoken by relatively few: Estonian and Slovene are spoken by approximately 1-2 million while Maltese and Irish are spoken by around half million each (moreover, the majority of speakers of Maltese and Irish are also fluent in English, another official EU language). This linguistic diversity reflects an overwhelming desire for equality: when joining, each member nation was allowed to put forward its national language as an official language of the EU and all its institutions. The only nation that has not done so has been Luxembourg (Luxembourgish is used by the EU as a treaty language only). Despite this apparent desire for equality, several languages stand out because of their omission. Russian, Turkish and Arabic are spoken by large numbers of Europeans (4.2, 2.2 and 1.6 million EU citizens, respectively), yet they do not enjoy the official status. Regional languages are similarly not included, even though some enjoy official or semi-official status in their own country. Catalan, spoken by 4.1 million European, is the most prominent example, followed by Galician and Basque.