Europe accounts for just 3% of mankind’s linguistic wealth, contributing about 200 of the more than 6,000 languages spoken around the world. Despite these relatively modest figures, the European Union’s language regime is by no means simple; there are 23 official languages, with about 500 possible translation combinations and the proliferation of paperwork that this implies, and with English as the not-always-comfortable lingua franca. Far from reducing in the foreseeable future, this linguistic complexity is likely to increase as the European integration process deepens and widens.
Against this background, the management of linguistic diversity in the EU has often been regarded as either a source of political contention or as a burden that slows down economic exchanges. The European Commission, being well aware of the need to face up to the problems associated with linguistic diversity, earlier this year appointed a new Commissioner to be responsible for Multilingualism and Intercultural Dialogue. Romania’s Commissioner Leonard Orban therefore holds a key post both in tackling institutional complexities created by Europe’s different languages and in avoiding any losses of competitiveness that might be ascribed to them.
Against this background, the reality is that the use of non-statewide languages, the so-called minority or regional languages, seems to be constantly shrinking. As things stand today, their cause may be even seen as annoying.
Catalonia is determined to proactively change those views, and to make a contribution to the EU’s better management of linguistic diversity. That means both respecting the linguistic rights of all Europeans, and making the most of our linguistic assets. Catalonia attaches a very high value to its own language, and has fostered its creativity by promoting its language among the EU institutions. It has also enhanced its own capacity to adapt to the linguistic requirements of the new European economy.
In institutional terms, Catalonia has been seeking the same level of recognition for the Catalan language at European level as it achieved in Spain’s domestic political arena after the return of democracy. This means that Catalonia is seeking recognition of Catalan –which in Spain is now a co-official language for nearly 11m citizens– as an official EU language. Catalonia is well aware, though, that this will not be easy, but it also believes that this recognition is essential if we want to build a citizens’ Europe. In pursuit of that goal, Catalonia, together with the Spanish government, has been promoting a series of agreements that enable Catalan speakers to interact with EU institutions in their own language. These new arrangements show that it is perfectly possible to bring the European Union closer to its citizens without adding to the burden on the EU institutions’ already over-stretched linguistic facilities.
“As long as it pays the bills” seems to be an underlying message of the new consensus on linguistic diversity across Europe. And so far as the Catalan language goes, that is precisely the case. Not only is it relatively cheap, it can even be said to be profitable.
The EU’s multilingualism agenda as set out by Commissioner Orban confirms that there has been an important shift in perception. The commissioner has set out three overarching priorities:
• “Mainstreaming” languages as part of the EU’s competitiveness strategy by encouraging companies to realise how much there is to be gained from addressing consumers in their own language
• Linking multilingualism to education with the aim of driving home the benefits of mastering foreign languages
• Promoting dialogue between the EU and its citizens
Multilingualism has a major role to play in business, especially in today’s fragmented global market place. English may have become the world’s business language, but one of the main challenges facing all countries is to overcome the skills shortages in languages and intercultural communication that is a problem for so many companies. This is particularly true for SMEs, which frequently run the risk of losing valuable business opportunities through language difficulties.
These communications challenges and dynamics are an all too familiar problem in Catalonia. But in line with our recently adopted long-term Economy Internationalisation Plan for 2007-2010, the government has foreseen the adoption of education and training measures to make Catalonia a tri-lingual country so as to make it an even more attractive place for corporate foreign investors. Catalonia will also be celebrating this linguistic diversity through its House of Languages – Linguamón project which includes a museum to showcase the world’s entire linguistic spectrum, thus paving the way for an ecosystems approach to language diversity.
The past decade has seen language technologies like speech recognition, computational linguistics, automatic or computer-assisted translation, information search and retrieval and dialogue systems undergo a genuine revolution. These innovations will continue to revolutionise the world of translation just as profoundly as did the Internet, e-mail and SMS text messaging in the field of written communication. The instant availability of cheap mid-quality linguistic mediation, with all its related products and services, is set to give a major boost to trade and the full range of international exchanges, making the whole idea of a lingua franca obsolete. User-dependent language menus are becoming the rule rather than the exception, and the Catalan government is funding several projects with databases for intelligent home equipment, as well as freely accessible automatic translation systems that already link Catalan to Spanish, French and English.
Three of Catalonia’s universities, together with their associated research centres and spin-outs, are currently making a meaningful contribution in this area. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Universitat de Barcelona (UB), have all established extensive track records with their pan-European research projects. The open, internet-based Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), meanwhile, has inaugurated the first Chair in Multilingualism.
All this is being done alongside a fast-developing network of companies both large and small that recognise the growth potential of language technologies. Telefónica’s R&D branch in Catalonia is going to specialize in multilingualism, while Barcelona’s 22@ media and hi-tech district is enjoying unprecedented take-off. Overall, the ICT sector is blooming in Catalonia, and has been receiving increasing levels of public support. Our regional multi-annual research and innovation plan identifies ICT as a strategic sector.
Earlier this year, the Government of Catalonia’s determined backing for pro-active language policies brought about a deal at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona with major software and hardware companies to include Catalan language options in their newest products, thus guaranteeing Catalan citizens full access to the digital era’s cutting edge. All of these ambitions and these concrete developments give meaning to Catalonia’s new Statute of Autonomy (2006), which states that “citizens have the right to linguistic choice”. Technology and Europe will only make it easier to make sure that this right becomes a reality.
This section is sponsored by the Government of Catalonia. For
more information: http://www.gencat.cat and www.linguamon.cat
