EU Promotes Greater Multilingualism
Businesses everywhere are under pressure to increase their linguistic diversity and cross-cultural skills in order to maintain a competitive edge in today’s global economy. Many emerging economies, especially in Asia and Latin America, are already acquiring the multilingual skills necessary for successful competition. Throughout Europe, however, many businesses are struggling economically due to their inadequate language skills. According to the EU’s Multilingualism Commissioner, Leonard Orban, language skills are crucial for "jobs and mobility in a competitive Europe," and that a lack of these skills is currently "the main barrier to mobility" in Europe.
The EU Commission recently released a report on business and multilingualism entitled “Languages mean business: companies work better with languages”. It stresses that individuals in EU countries should strive to acquire fluency in two languages in addition to their own. In addition, to be successful in international business, current focus should be on improving proficiency in English; but that German, French, and Russian are also highly in demand, as are Mandarin and other Chinese languages. One factor responsible for the lack of multilingualism in EU businesses is the misconception that English is the only language necessary to conduct international business. Small and medium size companies in particular are thought to be suffering economically due to their lack of language skills.
In an attempt to learn from other multilingual countries and promote multilingualism collectively, the EU recently signed a joint declaration with India. The main goal of the declaration, signed in Brussels in March 2009, was to reinforce EU-India cooperation regarding the impact of languages on employability, social cohesion, language learning, and terminology. Following the signing, Orban, expressed his view that the EU has much to learn from India, a country with a tradition of multilingualism and cultural diversity. Both the EU and India have over twenty official languages, the EU is home to at least 60 additional native languages and India to several hundred mother tongues. It is these similar linguistic challenges that have brought the EU and India together in an effort to effectively promote multilingualism.
In addition to its efforts with India, the EU Commission has also reached out to China. In March 2009, the China-EU Multilingualism Conference took place in Beijing, and was the first time that the EU and China have had the opportunity to discuss the issue of multilingualism. In addition to implications for business, intercultural dialogue, and education, an additional component was the mutual promotion of Chinese in Europe and of EU official languages in China.
Zhang Xinsheng, the Chinese Vice Minister of Education, noted that the globalization process has already posed threats to several languages, potentially damaging the world's cultural diversity. Leonard Orban, European Commissioner for Multilingualism, stressed that language promotes greater employability for individuals and greater competitiveness for businesses. He also emphasized the importance of understanding each others' languages and cultures in strengthening the bonds between countries and continents.