Languages of the European Union

The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory The EU asserts on its Europa homepage: "Languages: Europe's asset" and has a European Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban. Europa (sometimes written EUROPA) the official Web portal of the European Union, is intended to improve the public’s interaction with EU institutions The European Commissioner for Multilingualism is a member of the European Commission. Leonard Orban (born June 28 1961 is a Romanian independent technocrat who currently serves as the Commissioner for Multilingualism in the European

In the European Union, language policy is the responsibility of member states and EU does not have a common language policy; European Union institutions play a supporting role in this field, based on the "principle of subsidiarity". Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular Language or set of languages Subsidiarity is an Organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest lowest or least centralized competent authority Their role is to promote cooperation between the member states and to promote the European dimension in the member states language policies. The EU encourages all its citizens to be multilingual; specifically, it encourages them to be able to speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue. A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth Though the EU has very limited influence in this area as the content of educational systems is the responsibility of individual member states, a number of EU funding programmes actively promote language learning and linguistic diversity. One hotly debated issue is whether the biological contribution includes capacities specific to language acquisition often referred to as Universal grammar. In the Philosophy of language, a natural language (or ordinary language) is a Language that is spoken or written in phonemic-alphabetic or phonemically-related ^[1]

It should be noted that according to statistics the plurality of EU citizens speaks German, while the absolute majority can understand English and speaks German, English, French or Italian as mother languages. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. An absolute majority or majority of the entire membership (in American English, a Supermajority Voting requirement is a Voting basis English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth

French is an official language common to the three cities that are political centres of the Union: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France) and Luxembourg city (Luxembourg), while Catalan, Galician and (in the Baltic states) Russian are the most widely used non-recognized languages in the EU. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Locations The Treaties of the European Union outline the locations of the following institutions The European Parliament has its seat in Strasbourg hosting Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages which are in order from the greatest speaker population to the smallest Dutch (in a Belgian context often Strasbourg (Strasbourg stʁazbuʁ Alsatian: Strossburi,; Straßburg) is the capital and principal City of the Alsace région France has one Official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but The city of Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg Luxemburg also known as Luxembourg City (Stad Lëtzebuerg Ville de Luxembourg Luxemburg Stadt is a commune with city The linguistic situation in Luxembourg is characterized by the practice and the recognition of three official languages French, German and Luxembourgish Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages

Official languages of the European Union

Sign in the entrance of the European Parliament building in Brussels written in the 20 official languages used in the European Union as of July 2006. The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in

The official languages of the European Union, as stipulated in the amended EEC Council: Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community of 1958-04-15,^[2] are:^[3]

The number of member states exceeds the number of official languages, as several national languages are shared by two or more countries. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Maltese (Maltese Malti is the National language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English, Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Slovene or Slovenian ( slovenski jezik or slovenščina, not to be confused with Slovenčina) is a South Slavic language Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Namely, Dutch is official in the Netherlands and Belgium, French in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, German in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and Greek in Greece and Cyprus. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía English and Swedish are also shared, the former by the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta and the latter by Sweden and Finland, but the fact that they are co-official in Ireland, Malta and Finland with languages unique to those countries, namely Irish, Maltese and Finnish respectively, means that the overall ratio of member states to national languages is unaffected. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.

Furthermore, not all national languages have been accorded the status of official EU languages. These include Luxembourgish, an official language of Luxembourg since 1984, and Turkish, an official language of Cyprus. Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages.

All languages of the EU are also working languages. A working language (also procedural language) is a Language that is given a unique legal status in a Supra -national company society state or other body ^[4] Documents which a Member State or a person subject to the jurisdiction of a Member State sends to institutions of the Community may be drafted in any one of the official languages selected by the sender. The reply shall be drafted in the same language. Regulations and other documents of general application shall be drafted in the twenty-three official languages. The Official Journal of the European Union shall be published in the twenty-three official languages. The Official Journal (OJ of the European Union is the Gazette of record for the European Union.

Legislation and documents of major public importance or interest are produced in all twenty-three official languages, but that accounts for a minority of the institutions' work. Other documents (e. g. communications with the national authorities, decisions addressed to particular individuals or entities and correspondence) are translated only into the languages needed. For internal purposes the EU institutions are allowed by law to choose their own language arrangements. The European Commission, for example, conducts its internal business in three languages, English, French and German, and goes fully multilingual only for public information and communication purposes. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The European Parliament, on the other hand, has Members who need working documents in their own languages, so its document flow is fully multilingual from the outset. The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU ^[5] Non-institutional EU bodies are not legally obliged to make language arrangement for all the 23 languages (Kik v. There are currently five institutions of the European Union which govern the Union OHIM, Case No. The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs or OHIM (OAMI or es Oficina de Armonizacion del Mercado Interior HABM de Harmonisierungsamt C-361/01, 2003 ECJ I-8283). This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice

According to the EU's English language website,^[6] the cost of maintaining the institutions' policy of multilingualism (i. e. the cost of translation and interpretation) was €1123 million in 2005, which is 1% of the annual general budget of the EU, or €2. 28 per person per year.

Maltese

Though Maltese is an official language, the Council had set up a transitional period of three years from May 1, 2004, during which the institutions would not be obliged to draft all acts in Maltese. Maltese (Maltese Malti is the National language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English, Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " ^[7] It was agreed then the Council could extend the transitional period for a further year, but it decided not to. ^[8] That means all new acts of the institutions had to be adopted and published in Maltese from April 30, 2007. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Irish

Although the Irish language has been one of the official languages of the European Union only since January 1, 2007, it is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, and has minority-language status in Northern Ireland. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Since the Republic of Ireland's accession to the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973, EU treaties have been published and authenticated in Irish - as an official treaty language - as well as the EU official languages, and one has been able to make written submissions to Union institutions in Irish. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. On 13 June 2005, following a unanimous decision by EU foreign ministers (667th Meeting of the Council of the European Union, Luxembourg^[9]), it was announced that Irish would be made the 21st official language of the EU but a derogation stipulates that not all documents have to be translated into Irish as is the case with the other official languages. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Council of the European Union is the principal decision making institution in the European Union (EU ^[10] ^[11] The decision means that legislation approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers will now be translated into Irish, and interpretation from Irish will be available at European Parliament plenary sessions and some Council meetings. The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU The new arrangements came into effect on 1 January 2007. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The cost of translation, interpretation, publication and legal services involved in making Irish an official EU language is estimated at just under €3. 5 million a year. ^[12] The derogation will be reviewed in four years and every five years thereafter.

Irish is the only official language of the Union that is not the most widely spoken language in any member state - 2006 census figures show that in Ireland there are 1. 66 million speakers of Irish out of a population of 4. 24 million, though only 20,000 use Irish day-to-day. About 355,000 speak it as their mother tongue. It is also estimated that 165,000 people in Northern Ireland can also speak some Irish. There are small but slowly growing diaspora communities that speak Irish around the world, the largest being in the United States, with 25,000 Irish speakers. The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[13]

Status of regional and minority languages

The Spanish governments have sought to give some official status in the EU for Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician. The 667th Council Meeting of the Council of the European Union in Luxembourg on 13 June 2005 decided to authorise limited use at EU level of languages recognised by Member States other than the official working languages. The Council of the European Union is the principal decision making institution in the European Union (EU Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Council granted recognition to "languages other than the languages referred to in Council Regulation No 1/1958 whose status is recognised by the Constitution of a Member State on all or part of its territory or the use of which as a national language is authorised by law. " The official use of such languages will be authorised on the basis of an administrative arrangement concluded between the Council and the requesting Member State. ^[14]

Luxembourgish, an official language of Luxembourg, and Turkish, an official language of Cyprus, have not yet used this provision.

Catalan, Galician, and Basque

Although Catalan, Galician and Basque are not nation-wide official languages in Spain, as co-official languages in the respective regions (pursuant to Spain's constitution, among other documents) they are eligible to benefit from official use in EU institutions under the terms of the 13 June 2005 resolution of the Council of the European Union. Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Spanish government has assented to the provisions in respect of these languages.

The status of Catalan, spoken by many millions of citizens, has been the subject of particular debate. On 11 December 1990, the use of Catalan was the subject of a European Parliament Resolution (resolution A3-169/90 on languages in the (European) Community and the situation of Catalan (OJ-C19, 28 January 1991). Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official The Official Journal (OJ of the European Union is the Gazette of record for the European Union. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.

On November 16, 2005, the Committee of the Regions President Peter Straub signed an agreement with the Spanish Ambassador to the EU, Carlos Sagües Bastarreche, approving the use of Spanish regional languages in an EU institution for the first time in a meeting on that day, with interpretation provided by European Commission interpreters. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Committee of the Regions (CoR is a body of the European Union (EU established in 1994 Peter Karl Otto Straub (born 8 September 1939) is a Politician from Germany, and served as president of the Committee of the Regions ^[15]^[16]

On July 3, 2006, the European Parliament’s Bureau approved a proposal by the Spanish State to allow citizens to address the European Parliament in Basque, Catalan and Galician, two months after its initial rejection. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[17]^[18]

On November 30, 2006, the European Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, and the Spanish ambassador in the EU, Carlos Bastarreche, signed an agreement in Brussels to allow Spanish citizens to address complaints to the European Ombudsman in Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician, all three co-official languages in Spain. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The European Ombudsman (or sometimes Euro-Ombudsman) is an Ombudsman for the European Union, based in the Winston Churchill Building in Nikiforos P Diamandouros (Νικηφόρος Π Διαμαντούρος (born June 25, 1942 in Athens) is a Greek academic and since 2003 ^[19] According to the agreement, a translation body, which will be set up and financed by the Spanish government, will be responsible for translating complaints submitted in these languages. In turn, it will translate the Ombudsman's decisions from Spanish/Castilian into the language of the complainant. Until such a body is established the agreement will not become effective.

Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Scots

In response to a written parliamentary question tabled following the 2005-06-13 resolution on official use of regional languages, the UK Minister for Europe, Douglas Alexander, stated on 2005-06-29 that "The Government have no current plans to make similar provisions for UK languages. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967 is a British politician who is Secretary of State for International Development. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. "^[20]

Provision in the proposed constitutional treaty

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was drafted in the (that time) 21 official treaty languages of the EU (the official languages, plus Irish), in the languages of three candidate countries: Romanian, Bulgarian, and Turkish (of which Romania and Bulgaria have now joined the union). The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an unimplemented international Treaty intended Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. It contains the following provision:

Article IV-448(2): This Treaty may also be translated into any other languages as determined by Member States among those which, in accordance with their constitutional order, enjoy official status in all or part of their territory. A certified copy of such translations shall be provided by the Member States concerned to be deposited in the archives of the Council.

Note that the Constitution has been signed by all Member States and is in the ratification process. Following its rejection in referendums in France and the Netherlands, as matters stand it will not come into force.

Migrant languages

Migrant languages are not given formal status or recognition in the EU or in the EU countries and they are not covered by EU language-teaching programmes. Only national and local authorities may provide classes to help immigrants learn the language of their adopted country. ^[21]

National sign languages in the European Union

Roughly one person in one thousand uses a national sign language as a first language, however there are many more that use one as their second language. A sign language (also signed language) is a Language which instead of acoustically conveyed Sound patterns uses visually transmitted sign patterns An increasing number of countries have some form of recognition of their national sign language such as Belgium with Flemish Sign Language (VGT) and Belgian-French Sign Language (LSFB), the United Kingdom with British Sign Language (BSL). The legal recognition of sign languages is one of the major concerns of the international Deaf community Flemish Sign Language ( Vlaamse Gebarentaal or VGT previously known as Belgian Sign Language is the language used by signers in Flanders, which is the northern part In Northern Ireland, Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL) are recognised as official languages.

On 1988-06-17, the European Parliament unanimously approved a Resolution about national Sign Languages. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU This resolution asks all Member States for recognition of their national sign languages as official languages which would bring better linguistic rights and protection for sign language users especially the deaf users of sign language.

Name of the European Union

Official languages

This is a list of the name of the European Union in its 23 official languages:

Европейски съюз (Evropeyski sayuz; Bulgarian)
Evropská unie (Czech)
Den Europæiske Union (Danish)
Europese Unie (Dutch)
European Union (English)
Euroopa Liit (Estonian)
Euroopan unioni (Finnish)
Union européenne (French)
Europäische Union (German)
Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (Eurōpaïkí Énōsī; Greek)
Európai Unió (Hungarian)
An tAontas Eorpach (Irish)
Unione Europea (Italian)
Eiropas Savienība (Latvian)
Europos Sąjunga (Lithuanian)
Unjoni Ewropea (Maltese)
Unia Europejska (Polish)
União Europeia (Portuguese)
Uniunea Europeană (Romanian)
Európska únia (Slovak)
Evropska unija (also Evropska zveza) (Slovene)
Unión Europea (Spanish)
Europeiska unionen (Swedish)

Other languages

The draft European constitution has also been translated into the official languages of the three candidate countries. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Maltese (Maltese Malti is the National language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English, Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Slovene or Slovenian ( slovenski jezik or slovenščina, not to be confused with Slovenčina) is a South Slavic language Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an unimplemented international Treaty intended The names of the European Union in these languages are as follows:

Europska unija (Croatian)
Европска Унија (Evropska Unija; Macedonian)
Avrupa Birliği (Turkish)

The name in the languages of official prospective candidate countries are:

Bashkimi Evropian (Albanian)
Evropska unija / Europska unija (Bosnian)
Evropska unija / Европска унија (Montenegrin and Serbian)

The name in some other languages of European Union states are:

Unión Europeya (Aragonese)
Xunión Europea (Asturian)
Europar Batasuna (Basque)
Unvaniezh Europa (Breton)
Unió Europea (Catalan/Valencian)
Unyans Europek (Cornish)
Unione Europea (Corsican)
Union Europeane (Friulian)
Unión Europea (Galician)
Union Europenga (Piedmontese)
Uniùn d'Euròpa (Western Lombard)
Eùropejskô Ùnijô (Kashubian)
Eirōpõd Īt (Livonian)
Europäisch Union (Low German)
Europäesch Unioun (Luxembourgish)
Ounion Ouropeia (Mirandese)
Ünjôn Ürëpéj (Neapolitan)
Union Europèa (Occitan)
Европейский Союз (Yevropeyskiy Soyuz; Russian)
Eurohpa Uniovdna (Sami)
Unione Europea (Sardinian)
Aonadh Eòrpach (Scottish Gaelic)
Uniuni Europea (Sicilian)
Union Uropeyinne (Walloon)
Undeb Ewropeaidd (Welsh)
Jeropeeske Uny (West Frisian)
אײראָפּעיִשער פֿאַרבאַנד (Yiddish)

The name in some other languages is:

الاتحاد الأوروبي (al-Ittiḥād al-'Ūrūbī, Arabic)
Եվրոպական Միություն (Evropakan Miutyun; Armenian)
欧洲联盟 (Simplified) / 歐洲聯盟 (Traditional) (Pinyin: Oūzhou Liánméng, Chinese)
Eŭropa Unio (Esperanto)
Evropeiska samveldið (Faroese)
Kaisahang Yuropeo (Filipino)
Unione Europea (Tigrigna)
האיחוד האירופי (Ha-ʹiẖud Ha-ʹeropi) (Hebrew)
ಯೂರೋಪು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ (Europe Okkoota) (Kannada)
यूरोपीय संघ (Yūropīya Saṅgh; Hindi)
Evrópusambandið (Icelandic)
Uni Eropa (Indonesian)
Union Europee (Interlingua)
欧州連合 (Ōshū Rengō) or ヨーロッパ連合 (Yōroppa Rengō) (Japanese)
ევროპის კავშირი (evrop'is k'avširi) (Georgian)
유럽연합 / 유럽聯合 (Yureop Yeonhap) (Korean)
Unio Europaea (Latin)
Kesatuan Eropah (Malay)
Den europeiske union (Norwegian Bokmål)
Den europeiske unionen (Norwegian Nynorsk)
สหภาพยุโรป (Sahaphaap Yurohp) (Thai)
Європейський Союз (Jevropejśkyj Sojuz; Ukrainian)
Еўрапейскі Саюз (Jeŭrapiejski Sajuz; Belarusian)
یورپی یونین (Yūrapī Yūniyan) (Urdu)
Оврўпа бирлиги (Ovro'pa birligi) (Uzbek)
ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியம் (Airoppiya Onriyum) (Tamil)

Language skills of European Union citizens

The following tables are based on "Special Eurobarometer 243" of the European Commission with the title "Europeans and their Languages" (summary full text), published on February 2006 with research carried out in November and December 2005. Croatian language ( hrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in neighbouring Macedonian () is the official Language of the Republic of Macedonia and is a part of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - Bosnian language (Bosnian bosanski jezik) sometimes referred as Bosniak language or Bosniac language is a South Slavic language native Montenegrin language ( Cyrillic script: Црногорски језик, Latin: Crnogorski jezik) is the name given to the Ijekavian- Shtokavian Serbian (sr-Cyrl српски језик sr-Latn ''srpski jezik'' is a South Slavic language, Asturian (Asturian Asturianu or Bable) is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. Corsican ( Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica ( France) and northern Sardinia Friulian ( or affectionately marilenghe in Friulian friulano in Italian) (also Eastern Ladin) is a Romance language belonging Western Lombard is a Romance language spoken in Italy, in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-słowińskô mòwa; język kaszubski is one of Livonian (Līvõ kēļ belongs to the Baltic Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Low German or Low Saxon (in Germany: Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch; in Netherlands: Nedersaksisch or Nederduuts Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of The Mirandese language (autonym mirandés or lhéngua mirandesa; Portuguese: mirandês or língua mirandesa) is a Romance language Neapolitan (autonym napulitano; napoletano is the name given to the varied Italo-Western group of dialects of Southern Italy or more specifically the Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Finnic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway Sardinian ( Sardu, Saldu) is after Italian the main language spoken in the island of Sardinia, Italy, remarkable for being the most conservative Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Sicilian (scn '''''lu sicilianu''''' lingua siciliana, also known as Siculu or Calabro-Sicilian) is a Romance language. Walloon ( Walon) is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic West Frisian ( Frysk) is a Language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland ( Fryslân) in the north of the Netherlands. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world Faroese ( føroyskt ˈføːɹɪst or) often also spelled Faeroese (cf Tagalog is one of the major languages used in the Philippines. Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Kannada (kn [[wiktಕನ್ನಡ ಕನ್ನಡ]] Kannaḍa) is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is Icelandic ( is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia, based on the Riau version of Malay language, was declared the official language with the declaration of Interlingua is an International auxiliary language (IAL developed between 1937 and 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities Georgian (ka ქართული ენა kartuli ena) is the Official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus. This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language See Hangul for details on the native Korean writing system Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Malay language ( ISO 639-1 code MS is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people and people of other ethnic groups who reside in the Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language Bokmål (lit "book language" or Dano-Norwegian is the most commonly used of the two official Norwegian written Standard languages the other Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language Nynorsk (literally "New Norwegian" is one of the two official Norwegian Standard languages the other being Bokmål. Thai (th ภาษาไทย, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration:; pʰāːsǎːtʰāj is the national and Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Uzbek ( O‘zbek tili or O'zbekcha in Latin script, Ўзбек тили in Cyrillic script; أۇزبېك ﺗﻴﻠی in Arabic Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973 The survey was published before the 2007 Enlargement of the European Union, when Bulgaria and Romania acceded. Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union (EU through the accession of new member states. This is a poll, not a census. Polymerase (DNA directed lambda, also known as POLL, is a human Gene. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population 28,694 citizens with a minimum age of 15 were asked in the 25 member-states as well as in the future member-states (Bulgaria, Romania) and the candidate countries (Croatia, Turkey) at the time of the survey. Only citizens, not immigrants, were asked.

The first table shows what proportion of citizens said that they could have a conversation in each language as their mother tongue and as a second language or foreign language (only the languages with at least 2% of the speakers are listed):

Languages of the European Union
Language	(EU Countries)	As a mother tongue (% of EU population)	As a language other than mother tongue (% of EU population)	Can speak the language (% of EU population)
English		13%	38%	51%
German		18%	14%	32%
French		12%	14%	26%
Italian	^[22]	13%	3%	16%
Spanish		9%	6%	15%
Polish		9%	1%	10%
Dutch		5%	1%	6%
Russian		1%	6%	7%
Swedish		2%	1%	3%
Greek		3%	0%	3%
Czech		2%	1%	3%
Portuguese		2%	0%	2%
Hungarian		2%	0%	2%
Slovak		1%	1%	2%
Catalan		1%	1%	2%

Source: [1], data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement. A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth A second language (L2 is any Language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1 A foreign language is a Language not spoken by the people of a certain place for example English is a foreign language in Japan. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union (EU through the accession of new member states.

At 18% of the total number of speakers, German is the most widely spoken mother tongue, while English is the most widely spoken language at 51%. 100% of Hungarians, 100% of Portuguese, and 99% of Greeks speak their state language as their mother tongue.

The knowledge of foreign languages varies considerably in the specific countries, as the table below shows. The four most used, and spoken second or foreign languages in the EU are English, German, French and Spanish. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people When no rate is noted, the language is not one of the three most spoken second or foreign languages in this country. The cases coloured in blue means that the language is one/the official language of the country and dark blue means it is the main language spoken in the country.

Knowledge of English

Knowledge of German (different scale from English)

Knowledge of French (same scale as German)

Country (EU27)	English as a language other than mother tongue	German as a language other than mother tongue	French as a language other than mother tongue	Spanish as a language other than mother tongue
Austria	58%	4%	10%	4%
Belgium	59%	27%	48%	6%
Bulgaria	23%	12%	9%	2%
Cyprus	76%	5%	12%	2%
Czech Republic	24%	28%	2%	0%
Denmark	86%	58%	12%	5%
Estonia	46%	22%	1%	0%
Finland	63%	18%	3%	2%
France	36%	8%	6%	13%
Germany	56%	9%	15%	4%
Greece	48%	9%	8%	0%
Hungary	23%	25%	2%	1%
Ireland	5%	7%	20%	4%
Italy	29%	5%	14%	4%
Latvia	32%	14%	2%	1%
Lithuania	39%	19%	1%	0%
Luxembourg	60%	88%	90%	1%
Malta	88%	3%	17%	3%
Netherlands	87%	70%	29%	5%
Poland	29%	20%	3%	1%
Portugal	32%	3%	24%	9%
Romania	29%	6%	24%	3%
Slovakia	32%	32%	2%	1%
Slovenia	57%	50%	4%	2%
Spain	27%	2%	12%	10%
Sweden	89%	30%	11%	6%
United Kingdom	7%	9%	23%	8%
Candidate countries:
Croatia	49%	34%	4%	2%
Turkey	17%	4%	1%	0%

Source: [2], data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement with Bulgaria and Romania. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches

56% of citizens in the EU Member States are able to hold a conversation in one language apart from their mother tongue. This is 9 points more than was perceived in 2001 among the 15 Member States at the time [3]. 28% of the respondents state that they speak two foreign languages well enough to have a conversation. Still, almost half of the respondents, 44%, admit not knowing any other language than their mother tongue. Approximately 1 in 5 Europeans can be described as an active language learner, i. e. someone who has recently improved his/her language skills or intends to do so over the following 12 months.

English remains the most widely spoken foreign language throughout Europe. 38% of EU citizens state that they have sufficient skills in English to have a conversation (excluding the citizens of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the two English-speaking countries). 14% of Europeans indicate that they know either French or German along with their mother tongue. French is most commonly studied and used in Southern Europe, especially in Mediterranean countries, in Germany, Romania, the UK and Ireland while German is commonly studied and used in the Benelux countries, in Scandinavia and in the newer EU member states. Spanish is most commonly studied in parts of France, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal. In 19 out of 29 countries polled, English is the most widely known language apart from the mother tongue, this being particularly the case in Sweden (89%), Malta (an ex-British colony that ia also part of the Commonwealth of Nations as well) (88%), the Netherlands (87%), and Denmark (86%), while German and French is so in three countries. Moreover, the citizens of the EU think they speak English at a better level than any other second or foreign language. 77% of EU citizens believe that children should learn English and that it's considered the number one language to learn in all countries where the research conducted but the United Kingdom, Ireland and Luxembourg.

All in all, English either as a mother tongue or as a second/foreign language is spoken by 51% of EU citizens, followed by German with 32% and French with 28% of those asked.

With the enlargement of the European Union, the balance between French and German is slowly changing. Clearly more citizens in the new Member States master German (23% compared with 12% in the EU15) while their skills in French and Spanish are scarce (3% and 1% respectively compared with 16% and 7% among the EU15 group). A notable exception is Romania, where 24% of the population speaks French as a foreign language compared to 6% who speaks German as a foreign language (also 4% of the population speaks Italian as a foreign language, while 3% of the population speaks Spanish as a foreign language).

It is worth pointing out that language skills are unevenly distributed both over the geographical area of Europe and over sociodemographic groups. Reasonably good language competences are perceived in relatively small Member States with several state languages, lesser used native languages or "language exchange” with neighbouring countries. This is the case for example in Luxembourg where 92% speak at least two languages. Those who live in Southern European countries or countries where one of the major European languages is a state language appear to have moderate language skills. Only 5% of Turkish, 13% of Irish, 16% of Italians, 17% of Spanish and 18% from the UK speak at least two languages apart from their mother tongue. A "multilingual" European is likely to be young, well-educated or still studying, born in a country other than the country of residence, who uses foreign languages for professional reasons and is motivated to learn. Consequently, it seems that a large part of European society is not enjoying the advantages of multilingualism.

Free language lessons (26%), flexible language courses that suit one’s schedule (18%) and opportunities to learn languages in a country where it is spoken natively (17%) are considered to be the main incentives encouraging language learning. Group lessons with a teacher (20%), language lessons at school (18%), “one-to-one” lessons with a teacher and long or frequent visits to a country where the language is spoken are considered to be the most suitable ways to learn languages.

Regional and minority languages

According to the Euromosaic study, a number of regional or minority languages are spoken within the EU that do not have official recognition at EU level. A regional language is a Language spoken in an area of a Nation state, whether it be a small area a federal State or Province, or A minority language is a Language spoken by a Minority of the Population of a country Some of them may have some official status within the member state and count many more speakers than some of the lesser-used official languages. The official languages of EU are in bold. These include (data available for EU25):

Albanian (Greece as Arvanitika, Italy as Arbëresh)
Arabic (Cyprus as Cypriot Arabic)
Aragonese (Spain)
Armenian (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Poland)
Aromanian (Bulgaria, Greece as Vlach, Romania)
Asturian (Spain)
Basque (France, Spain)
Berber (Spain)
Belarusian (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland)
Bosnian (Slovenia)
Breton (France, United Kingdom)
Bulgarian (Greece as Pomak, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania as Banat Bulgarian)
Catalan (France, Italy, Spain)
Cornish (United Kingdom)

Corsican (France)
Croatian (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia)
Czech (Austria, Poland, Slovakia)
Danish (Germany)
Dutch (France as Flemish)
Finnish (Estonia, Sweden)
Franco-Provençal (Italy)
Frisian (Germany, Netherlands)
Friulian (Italy)
Galician (Spain)
German (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia)
Greek (Czech Republic, Italy as Griko, Hungary, Bulgaria, France as Greek Corsican)
Hungarian (Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia)
Irish (United Kingdom)
Italian (Slovenia, Croatia)
Ladin (Italy)

Latgalian (Latvia)
Livonian (Latvia)
Latvian (Estonia)
Lithuanian (Estonia, Latvia, Poland)
Luxembourgish (Luxembourg)
Karaim (Lithuania, Poland)
Kashubian (Poland)
Maltese (Italy, United Kingdom, Gibraltar)
Manx (United Kingdom)
Mirandese (Portugal)
Occitan (France, Italy, Spain)
Polish (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia)
Portuguese (Spain)
Romani (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia)
Romanian (Hungary, Bulgaria)
Russian (Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)

Rusyn (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia)
Sami (Finland, Sweden)
Sardinian (Italy)
Scottish Gaelic (United Kingdom)
Serbian (Hungary, Romania, Slovenia)
Slavian Macedonian, (Bulgaria)
Slovak (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland)
Slovene (Austria, Italy, Hungary)
Sorbian (Germany)
Swedish (Estonia, Finland as Finland Swedish)
Tatar (Estonia, Lithuania, Poland)
Turkish (Greece, Bulgaria)
Ukrainian (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia)
Welsh (United Kingdom)
Yiddish (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania)

In this list, constructed languages or what member states deem as mere "dialects" of an official language of member states are not included. Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Arvanitika or Arvanitic ( Albanian: Arbërisht, Greek: αρβανίτικα arvanitika) is the variety of Albanian Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Arbëresh, Arbërisht or Arbërishte is the dialect of the Albanian language spoken by the Arbëreshë; the Albanian-speaking minorities in Italy Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Cypriot Maronite Arabic (also known as Cypriot Arabic Maronite Sanna is one of the most divergent of Arabic varieties, spoken by Maronites in Cyprus Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Aromanian ( limba armãneascã, armãneshce or armãneashti) also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach in most The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Eastern Romance languages, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Asturian (Asturian Asturianu or Bable) is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Bosnian language (Bosnian bosanski jezik) sometimes referred as Bosniak language or Bosniac language is a South Slavic language native Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: palćene or banátsći balgare; common банатски българи banatski balgari) are a distinct Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Corsican ( Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica ( France) and northern Sardinia This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Croatian language ( hrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in neighbouring Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. West Flemish (West Flemish Vlaemsch/Vlaams, Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: Flamand occidental) is a group of Dutch dialects spoken in Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Franco-Provençal ( Francoprovençal) or Arpitan ( Vernacular: frp francoprovençâl arpitan patouès; francoprovenzale arpitano dialetto Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500000 members of Frisian Ethnic groups who live on the southern Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Friulian ( or affectionately marilenghe in Friulian friulano in Italian) (also Eastern Ladin) is a Romance language belonging Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy, and it Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Aléria ( Ancient Greek, Alaliē and Latin Aleria) is a commune in the Haute-Corse Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Ladin ( Ladino in Italian Ladin in Ladin Ladinisch in German is a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in the Dolomite mountains Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Latgalian language can mean one of the following It was a language spoken by Latgalians in a great part of the area which is now Latvia. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Livonian (Līvõ kēļ belongs to the Baltic Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Karaim language (Crimean dialect къарай тили Trakai dialect karaj tili is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences in a similar manner to Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-słowińskô mòwa; język kaszubski is one of Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Maltese (Maltese Malti is the National language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English, Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Manx ( Gaelg or Gailck, ɡilk or) also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language once spoken on the Isle The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Mirandese language (autonym mirandés or lhéngua mirandesa; Portuguese: mirandês or língua mirandesa) is a Romance language Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Rusyn (ry русинськый язык) is an East Slavic language (along with Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian, with which it shares The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Finnic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Sardinian ( Sardu, Saldu) is after Italian the main language spoken in the island of Sardinia, Italy, remarkable for being the most conservative Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Serbian (sr-Cyrl српски језик sr-Latn ''srpski jezik'' is a South Slavic language, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Macedonian () is the official Language of the Republic of Macedonia and is a part of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Slovene or Slovenian ( slovenski jezik or slovenščina, not to be confused with Slovenčina) is a South Slavic language Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Sorbian languages are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of Dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their The Tatar language (,, Татар теле, Татарча) is a Turkic Language spoken by the Tatars. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania A constructed or artificial language known colloquially or informally as a conlang is a Language whose Phonology, Grammar A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of It should be noted that many of these alleged "dialects" are widely viewed by linguists as separate languages, however. These include Scots (the Germanic language descended from Anglo-Saxon, not the Celtic language known as Scots Gaelic) and several Romance languages spoken in Italy such as Veneto, Neapolitan, and Sicilian.

Russian

Though not an official language of the European Union, Russian is widely spoken in some of the newer member states of the Union that were formerly in the Eastern bloc. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were Russian is the native language of about 1. 3 million Slavs residing in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, as well as a sizeable community in Germany. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Russian is also understood by many ethnic Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians, since it was a compulsory subject of many curricula in these countries during the Soviet era. History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union is covered in the following series of articles Although rarely a native language, Russian is widely understood by many in Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, some in Hungary, Romania and other countries. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania It is the 8th most spoken language in the EU. About 7% of all EU citizens speak or understand Russian to some extent.

Migrant languages

A wide variety of languages from other parts of the world are spoken by immigrant communities in EU countries. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Turkish is spoken as a first language by an estimated 2% of the population in Belgium and the western part of Germany and by 1% in The Netherlands. Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Other widely-used migrant languages include Maghreb Arabic (mainly in France and Belgium), Urdu, Bengali and Hindi spoken by immigrants from the Indian sub-continent in the United Kingdom, while Balkan languages are spoken in many parts of the EU by migrants and refugees who have left the region as a result of the recent wars and unrest there. Maghrebi Arabic is a cover term for the varieties of Arabic spoken in the Maghreb, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This is a list of languages spoken in the Balkans. With the exception of several Turkic languages Hungarian and Circassian all of them belong to the Indo-European family According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race The Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY that took place between 1991 and

There are large Chinese communities in France, UK, Spain, Italy, Romania and other countries. Chinese French (Sino-Français are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to France. British Chinese, including British-born Chinese (often informally referred to as BBC) are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or have migrated Chinese people in Spain form the ninth-largest non- European Union foreign community in Spain. The community of Chinese people in Italy has grown rapidly in the past ten years The Chinese of Romania ( Chinese: 羅馬尼亞華僑 Romanian: chinezi) are one of the smaller Minorities of Romania, numbering only 2249 according Some countries have Chinatowns. A Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese outside the majority-Chinese countries of Greater China. Old and recent Chinese migrants speak various Chinese dialects. However, Mandarin is becoming increasingly more prevalent due to the opening up of the PRC.

Many immigrant communities in the EU have been in place for several generations now and their members are bilingual, at ease both in the local language and in that of their community. [4]

Linguistic classification of the EU's official languages

The majority of the official languages of the European Union belong to the Indo-European language family, the three dominant subfamilies being the Germanic, Romance and Slavic languages. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages Germanic languages are widely spoken in central and northern areas of the EU and include Danish, Dutch, English, German, and Swedish. Romance languages are spoken in western and southern regions and include French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. The Slavic languages are to be found in the eastern regions and include Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene. The Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian, the Celtic language Irish, and Greek are also of Indo-European origin. The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Outside the Indo-European family, Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian are Finno-Ugric languages while Maltese is the only Semitic language with official status in the EU. Finno-Ugric (ˌfɪnoʊˈjuːgɹɪk is a grouping of languages in the Uralic language family comprising Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian and The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, All official EU languages are written with the Latin alphabet, except Greek (written with the Greek alphabet) and Bulgarian (written in the Cyrillic alphabet). The Greek alphabet (Ελληνικό αλφάβητο is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by

Legal basis

The European Union ability for legislative acts and other initiatives on language policy is based legally in the provisions in the Treaties of the European Union. The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the Union's member states which sets out the counstitutional basis of the In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states and European Union does not have a "common language policy". Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular Language or set of languages Based on the "principle of subsidiarity", European Union institutions play a supporting role in this field, promoting cooperation between the member states and promoting the European dimension in the member states language policies, particularly through the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the member states (Article 149. Subsidiarity is an Organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest lowest or least centralized competent authority 2). ^[23]^[24] The rules governing the languages of the institutions of the Community shall, without prejudice to the provisions contained in the Statute of the Court of Justice, be determined by the Council, acting unanimously (Article 290). All languages, in which was originally drawn up or was translated due to enlargement, are legally equally authentic. Every citizen of the Union may write to any of the EU institutions or bodies in one of the these languages and have an answer in the same language (Article 314).

In the Charter of Fundamental Rights, a legally non-binding text, the EU declares that it respects linguistic diversity (Article 22) and prohibits discrimination on grounds of language (Article 21). The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a document containing Human rights provisions ‘solemnly proclaimed’ by the European Parliament Respect for linguistic diversity is a fundamental value of the European Union, in the same way as respect for the person, openness towards other cultures, tolerance and acceptance of other people.

EU initiatives for language learning and linguistic diversity

Interpretation booths in the debating chamber of the European Parliament (Brussels). The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is

Beginning with the Lingua programme in 1990, the European Union invests more than €30 million a year (out of a €120 billion EU budget) promoting language learning through the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes in: bursaries to enable language teachers to be trained abroad, placing foreign language assistants in schools, funding class exchanges to motivate pupils to learn languages, creating new language courses on CDs and the Internet and projects that raise awareness of the benefits of language learning. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The European Union (EU is an association of 27 independent member states The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part The Leonardo da Vinci programme is a European funding programme focused on the teaching and training needs of those involved in vocational education and training

Through strategic studies, the Commission promotes debate, innovation and the exchange of good practice. In addition, the mainstream actions of Community programmes which encourage mobility and transnational partnerships motivate participants to learn languages.

Youth exchanges, town twinning projects and the European Voluntary Service also promote multilingualism. A student exchange program is a program in which a Student, typically in secondary or Higher education, chooses to live in a foreign country to learn What is a European Voluntary Service project An EVS project allows a young person to be a Volunteer in another country for a specified period normally between 2-12 Since 1997, the Culture 2000 programme has financed the translation of around 2,000 literary works from and into European languages. Culture 2000 is a 7-year European Union program which had among its key objectives preserving and enhancing Europe's cultural heritage

The new programmes proposed for implementation for the financial perspective 2007-2013 (Culture 2007, Youth in Action and Lifelong Learning) will continue and develop this kind of support. The financial perspective (sometimes financial framework) of the European Union (EU is a seven- Year framework for its spending The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 (previously referred to as the "Integrated action programme in the field of lifelong learning" or the "Integrated programme" is the

In addition, the EU provides the main financial support to the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (a non-governmental organisation which represents the interests of the over 40 million citizens who belong to a regional and minority language community), and for the Mercator networks of universities active in research on lesser-used languages in Europe. The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages ( EBLUL) is a Non-governmental organisation promoting linguistic diversity and languages founded in 1982 Following a request from the European Parliament, the Commission in 2004 launched a feasibility study on the possible creation of a new EU agency, "European Agency for Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity". The agencies of the European Union (or decentralised bodies of the European Union) are bodies which are distinct from the European Union's institutions, The study concludes that there are unmet needs in this field, and proposes two options: creating an agency or setting up a European network of "Language Diversity Centres". The Commission believes that a network would be the most appropriate next step and, where possible, should build on existing structures; it will examine the possibility of financing it on a multi-annual basis through the proposed Lifelong Learning programme. Another interesting step would be to translate important public websites, such as the one of the European Central Bank, or Frontex web site also, in at least one other language than English.

Although not an EU treaty, some EU member states have ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( ECRML) is a European Treaty (CETS 148 adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe Its ratification is also a prerequisite for new member-states joining the Union.

To encourage language learning, the EU supported the Council of Europe initiatives for European Year of Languages 2001 and the annual celebration of European Day of Languages on September 26. The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 26 September was proclaimed European Day of Languages by the Council of Europe, with the support of the European Union, on 6 December Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a

To encourage the member states to cooperate and to disseminate best practice the Commission has issued a Communication on July 24, 2003, on Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: an Action Plan 2004 - 2006 (summary) and a Communication on November 22, 2005, on A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (summary). Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

From November 22, 2004, the European Commissioner for Education and Culture portfolio included an explicit reference to languages and became European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism with Ján Figeľ at the post. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture is a member of the European Commission. European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture is a member of the European Commission. Ján Figeľ (born 20 January 1960) is a Slovak politician currently serving as European Commissioner for Education, Training From January 1, 2007, the European Commission has a special portfolio on languages, European Commissioner for Multilingualism. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The European Commissioner for Multilingualism is a member of the European Commission. The post is currently held by Leonard Orban. Leonard Orban (born June 28 1961 is a Romanian independent technocrat who currently serves as the Commissioner for Multilingualism in the European

EU devotes a specialised subsite of its "Europa" portal to languages, the EUROPA Languages portal.

References

^ EUROPA - Education and Training - Action Plan Promoting language learning and linguistic diversity
^ Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006, Official Journal L 363 of December 12, 2006. Most of the many Languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European Language family. The European Commissioner for Multilingualism is a member of the European Commission. Leonard Orban (born June 28 1961 is a Romanian independent technocrat who currently serves as the Commissioner for Multilingualism in the European The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union is an Agency of the European Union. Inter-Active Terminology for Europe ( IATE) is the inter-institutional Terminology Database of the European Union. 26 September was proclaimed European Day of Languages by the Council of Europe, with the support of the European Union, on 6 December Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Several linguistic issues have arisen in relation to the spelling of the words Euro and cent in the many languages of the member states See also Languages of the European Union List of countries of the European Union in the official languages List of names Euro-English (also Euroenglish or Euro-Englisch) terms are English translations of European concepts that are not native to English-speaking countries The English language in Europe, as a Native language, is mainly spoken in the United Kingdom ( England, Scotland, Wales Retrieved on February 2, 2007. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
^ http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html
^ http://europa.eu.int/languages/en/chapter/33
^ Europa:Languages and Europe. FAQ: Is every document generated by the EU translated into all the official languages?, Europa portal. Retrieved on February 6, 2007. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
^ Europa:Languages and Europe. FAQ: What does the EU's policy of multilingualism cost?, Europa portal. Retrieved on February 6, 2007. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
^ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:169:0001:0002:EN:PDF
^ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:329:0001:0002:EN:PDF
^ http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/85437.pdf
^ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_156/l_15620050618en00030004.pdf
^ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-828-269-9-39-901-20050928IPR00827-26-09-2005-2005-IE-false/default_en.htm
^ http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10002211.shtml
^ http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/vol11_entire.pdf
^ http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/85437.pdf
^ http://europa.eu.int/languages/en/document/81/6
^ http://www.cor.europa.eu/en/press/press_05_11125.html
^ http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/notidetail.cfm?IDA=897&lg=gb
^ http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php/news/comments/catalan_government_welcomes_european_parliament_language_move/
^ http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/release/en/2006-11-30a.htm
^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo050629/text/50629w13.htm
^ http://europa.eu.int/comm/publications/booklets/move/45/en.pdf
^ Ignasi Badia i Capdevila; A view of the linguistic situation in Malta; NovesSl; [2004]; retrieved on [2008-02-24]
^ Consolidated version of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Articles 149 to 150, Official Journal C 321E of 29 December 2006. Retrieved on February 1, 2007. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
^ European Parliament Fact Sheets: 4.16.3. Language policy, European Parliament website. Retrieved on February 3, 2007. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

External links

Official EU webpages

News

EurActiv.com - Languages and Culture - news site
Eurolang news agency covering lesser-used languages in the EU.

Other

The European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL)
The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) - a EU funded NGO on lesser-used languages in the EU.
Mercator - networks of universities active in research on lesser-used languages in Europe
ADUM - information on minority languages EU programmes.
MinoLa - Minority Languages in the European Union

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Contents

Official languages of the European Union

Maltese

Irish

Status of regional and minority languages

Catalan, Galician, and Basque

Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Scots

Provision in the proposed constitutional treaty

Migrant languages

National sign languages in the European Union

Name of the European Union

Official languages

Other languages

Language skills of European Union citizens

Regional and minority languages

Russian

Migrant languages

Linguistic classification of the EU's official languages

Legal basis

EU initiatives for language learning and linguistic diversity

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Official EU webpages

News

Other