Newsgroups: alt.politics.ec,sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!news.duke.edu!godot.cc.duq.edu!hudson.lm.com!newsfeed.pitt.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!ellis!deb5
From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Languages in the EC
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: midway.uchicago.edu
Message-ID: <D3nIr6.45J@midway.uchicago.edu>
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Reply-To: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: The University of Chicago
References: <3fdf8r$gqe@nic.lth.se> <791680377snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk> <3gsl5g$8m@mordred.cc.jyu.fi> <MATTHEW.95Feb3140634@baloo.cpd.ntc.nokia.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 22:35:30 GMT
Lines: 26

In article <MATTHEW.95Feb3140634@baloo.cpd.ntc.nokia.com>,
Matthew Faupel <matthew@cpd.ntc.nokia.com> wrote:

>All of which I agree with.  However most people do not have the time or
>facility to learn all 12 of the EC's current set of languages (more if you
>count non-official EC languages such as Erse, Basque, Catalan, Romansch
>etc.).  Come the 21st century, this total will be up to 15-20 (Polish,
>Czech, Hungarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Serbo-Croat?, Rumanian?,
>Bulgarian?, Russian?), the mastery of all of which will be beyond the reach
>of all but the professional or dedicated and gifted amateur.

Look southwards instead of eastwards:  Tunisia, Morocco, and Turkey
submitted their applications years before anyone in the Eastern Bloc
had the opportunity, and Malta will likely beat most of them to the
punch even now.  Maghrebi Arabic will be a more important language for 
Europe in 10 years than at least half of the ones you list (and that's
assuming "Erse" refers to one language, Scots-Gaelic, and not two.
Quaint term--where did you encountre it?).

"Europe" is not a fixed geographic entity; as the EC/EU evolves, the
term "Europe" will also evolve.  Already, many people accept "Asia Minor"
into their definition of "Europe" without a trace of irony.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
