Euro English

Euro English
Region European Union
Language codes
ISO 639-3 –
Glottolog None

Euro English is a set of varieties of English used in Continental Europe and especially in the institutions of the European Union or among young mobile Europeans (such as in the Erasmus programme).

History

The term was first used by Carstensen in 1986 to denote the adoption of anglicisms in Europe.[1]

The enlargement of the European Union diminished the influence of other working languages (German and French). The development of the Erasmus Programme created a new class of mobile Europeans who needed a lingua franca to communicate across Europe.

The question whether the appropriation of English by non-native speakers in Continental Europe is giving rise to a potential European variety of English has not yet been resolved. Mollin rejected Euro-English as a variety of English.[1] According to Forche, many of the features suggested to be characteristic of Euro-English could be identified as learners’ mistakes, although there are some nativization tendencies. Future institutionalization could happen under the influence of young mobile Europeans.[2]

Influences

There are two influences in Euro English: one top-down, and one bottom up.

The top-down influence comes from institutions such as the English Style Guide, issued by the European Commission, which recommends ways to use English in written official documents. It is influenced by British English, but also prefers some American English spellings, such as 'judgment' over 'judgement'.[3]

The bottom up influence comes from the preferences of the people (38% of the EU’s citizens speak English as a foreign language).[3]

Some words are given a plural with a final 's' in Euro-English, such as 'informations' and 'competences', to match similar words in European languages (such as 'informations' and 'compétences' in French) while this might be seen as incorrect in British or American English.[3]

Some words such as 'actor,' 'axis' or 'agent' are given a meaning as wide as in European languages while their meaning would keep a narrower range in native English.[3]

Examples

Standard EnglishEuro EnglishOrigin
tourist, used attributivelytouristicTouristic is not commonly used to describe places catering to tourism, unlike its cognates in other European languages (cf. French touristique, Dutch toeristisch, Spanish/Portuguese/Galician turístico, Catalan turístic, Turkish turistik, Polish turystyczny, Serbo-Croatian/Macedonian turístički).
Last October I had the opportunity to attend a workshop.Last October I had the possibility to attend a workshop.possibilité in French can mean "opportunity"; and the etymology of the English word possibility comes from the (Old) French one.
That Mercedes is my dentist's car.That Mercedes is the car of my dentist.Possessive in Romance languages. For instance: La voiture de mon dentiste in French.
currentactualThe English adjective actual has undergone semantic shift and is now a false friend (cf. cognates in German aktuell, Dutch actueel, French actuel, Portuguese/Romanian/Spanish/Catalan/Galician actual, Italian attuale, Czech aktuální).[4]
possiblyeventuallyThe English adjective eventual has undergone a semantic widening (cf. the cognates in French éventuel, German eventuell, Danish eventuelt, Dutch eventueel).
to provide (for)to foreseeFrench prévoir,[5] Dutch voorzien
We are offering a challenging position in our unit.We propose a challenging position in our unit.proposer in French can mean "to offer" or "to suggest".
What is it called; what do you call it?How is it called, how do you call it?Many European languages use how rather than what in their equivalent constructions: German Wie heisst es and French Comment s'appelle ça.
Please enter your PIN code below.Please introduce your PIN code below.introduire in French can mean "to insert" or "to type in".
In the end I am staying in France.Finally I am staying in France.Finally is not commonly used to describe an ultimate decision.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Mollin, Sandra (2006). Euro-English: Assessing Variety Status. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. p. 6. ISBN 382336250X.
  2. ↑ Forche, Christian R. (November 2012). "On the emergence of Euro-English as a potential European variety of English – attitudes and interpretations". Linguistics. Freie Universität Berlin. 13 (2).
  3. 1 2 3 4 Nordquist, Richard (21 March 2017). "Euro-English in Language". ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo, a Dotdash brand. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  4. ↑ How to Write Clearly (PDF), Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission, retrieved 28 July 2018
  5. ↑ Gardner, Jeremy (8 May 2013), A Brief List of Misused English Terms in EU Publications (PDF), European Court of auditors Secretariat General Translation Directorate, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2013

Further reading

  • English in the European Union - Worlds of English (2/4), Open University
  • S.D. (30 September 2011). "Euro-English: Blasting the bombast". The Economist. London.
  • Ramsay, Anne (2001). Eurojargon: A Dictionary of the European Union. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
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