Language Diversity in Europe

There are some 6,000 languages spoken in the world today. In Europe there are 11 officially-recognised EU languages and several smaller regional ones. But many of these smaller minority languages are on the verge of dying out.

The EU has established the protection of language diversity as one of its priorities for The European Year of Languages. According to the EU's report, language must be regarded as a cultural heritage just like archaeological sites or famous art works and must be protected and cared for in much the same way.

Europe is a continent of linguistic diversity. In fact, diversity - not only in the field of languages - is one of Europe's greatest strengths. Today, however, some of the larger European languages like English, French, Spanish or German tend to dominate. These languages are spoken by millions of people; they are spread across borders through television and radio productions or through music and movies made in these countries.

If you take a look at the internet, the trend to concentrate on just a few languages becomes even more evident. On the net, the English language clearly dominates. Most of the homepages in this global medium are in English, regardless of whether or not the author speaks English as a mother tongue.

Concentrating on English and a few other widely-spoken languages enables people from many different cultural backgrounds to communicate with one another. But it also means that some of the lesser-spoken European languages are in danger of being forgotten.

Who still needs them, people might think. And before they realise it, some of the ancient European dialects and minority languages are dying out. To prevent this, people must become aware of and learn to appreciate the richness of Europe's linguistic heritage.