According to a recent article in The Economist, a renowned British publication, the English language is playing an ever more central role in aiding communication between multi-lingual Europe. The Economist highlights the increasing number of printed and online articles being produced primarily in English by many well known members of the European Press. The article quotes Daryl Lindsey from the German publication Der Spiegel as saying “Europeans can read what other Europeans think about the world”. These changes herald failure for the European Union’s policy of “mother tongue plus two” which promotes the learning of two foreign languages, in practice usually French or German alongside English, in addition to the native language.
English appears to be winning out, claims the Economist, thus diminishing the need for native English speakers to learn another European language, a fact highlighted in a smaller uptake in German, French and Spanish classes inside schools in the UK and Ireland.
“Europeans will become bilingual , except for Anglophones, who are becoming monolingual “predicts the Belgian academic Mr van Parijs.
Based on an article in The Economist , February 14th 2009