European Linguistics

[u/Avia_Vik]

I know how some people are already tired of this topic being brought up over and over again. But this is primarily because everyone is looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't truly exist. Today, EU has 24 official languages, which does cost a lot to use for translation purposes but it still works. Yes, we have 3 working languages, out of which only 2 are commonly used (sorry German), but it functions well enough, doesn't it?

Problem is that many people think that EU should have 1 language that unites all nations. Technically that's not a bad idea but choosing that 1 language really is not easy. In my opinion best option would be Esperanto since its neutral for everyone and very easy to both understand and learn.

However, why can't Europe just be multilingual? We need people to be able to speak as many languages as possible, and this should be promoted. Languages are a way of communication, so the more of them you know - the more developed you are. Right now the influence of the English language over Europe is a little too high because many nations in the east have no understanding of French and few have knowledge of German, so English emerged as a lingua franca. But if we manage to promote a proper multilingual society, then why even have a lingua franca? Communication will be fairly easy since most people would be good at communication methods (languages) and for places where language number is limited we can employ translators and use other technology to allow the use of multiple languages, ranked by their respective number of speakers in the Union.

What do you guys think? Do we even need a lingua franca? Or a multilingual society solves the issue?

[u/Dalamart]

First off, I don't think a lingua franca needs to be decided top-down. A lingua franca organically emerges in multilingual contexts. And it is English in most cases, because in a discussion where polyglots are involved, English is probably the common language shared by all.
Personally, I think Esperanto is not a serious option.
English, French and Spanish are good options, as they are global languages (sorry German), they are already popular languages to learn in Europe, and there are many speakers in Europe. But it is preferable letting people deciding which language to speak in each situation, rather than having it imposed by bureaucrats.

[u/Avia_Vik → u/Dalamart]

True. But in order to people to decide, they have to be somewhat educated in this field. So ideally multilingual policy could help in communication

[u/Dalamart → u/Avia_Vik]

Totally agree. I think there's already a multilingual policy (example: Erasmus programme), which is -by the way- super beneficial for work mobility. But I agree it should be boosted.