Euro English

Euro English or European English, less commonly known as EU English and EU Speak, is a pidgin dialect of English based on the technical jargon of the European Union and the native languages of its non-native English speaking staff. It is mostly used among EU staff, young international travelers (such as foreign exchange students in the EU’s Erasmus programme), diplomats, and sometimes by other non-native English speaking Continental Europeans.[2][3][4]

Euro English
RegionEuropean Union Publications and Hearings [1]
Early forms
Latin (English alphabet)
Unified English Braille
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone
For other uses, see English language in Europe.

History

The usage of the English language in Europe progressed through the 19th century, when the British Empire inherited colonies in mainland Europe such as Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Menorca, Heligoland, and the Ionian Islands, the latter two in modern-day Germany and Greece respectively.

The term "Euro English" was first used by Carstensen in 1986 to denote the adoption of anglicisms in Europe.[5]

The enlargement of the European Union over several decades gradually diminished the influence of two of the EU's 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.[5] 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.

Euro-English was heavily influenced and dominated by British English, due to the United Kingdom having been an EU member state between 1973 and 2020. However, the UK's withdrawal from the EU in early 2020 has mostly reduced the Union's scope of native English speakers to Irish English, which one source believes allows room for Romance languages to become more influential.[6]

Euro English in computers

The Unicode Common Locale Data Repository Project had drafted/defined "en-150" for English in Europe.

Influences

There are two influences in Euro English: top-down and 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. "On the whole it follows standard British English usage, but in cases where British English has alternatives, it makes decisions—such as recommending the spelling judgment, not judgement.".[7]

The bottom-up influence comes from the preferences of the people (38% of the EU's citizens speak English as a foreign language).[7]

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.[7]

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.[7]

EU DGT style guide

The Directorate-General for Translation of the EU has a style guide for English language to help write clear and readable regular English. This guide is based on the English spoken in Ireland and Great Britain, known as British English[8].

It does not consider itself EU English being different from real English but help to address specific EU terminology needs related to the way it works.

It prefers British English to American English but recommends avoiding very colloquial British usage.[8]

This style guide defines the thousand separator as space or as a comma, the plural of euro as euro.[8]

It also provides accuracy, for instance the word Brexit refers to the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, and not to a day of a referendum: since the Brexit referendum does not have the same meaning as since Brexit.[8]

EU glossary

The many years of the EU's existence have led to the appearance of EU-specific vocabulary.

Grammar

Non-native English speakers frequently drop the third person singular's suffix (s). For example: he often call meetings.[9]

Vocabulary
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, German touristisch, Spanish/Portuguese/Galician turístico, Catalan turístic, Italian turistico, 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.Used in Romance languages but comes from possibilité in French, which 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, L'auto del mio dentista in Italian, O carro do meu dentista in Portuguese, El coche de mi dentista in Spanish.
CurrentActualThe English adjective actual has undergone semantic shift and is now a false friend (cf. cognates in German aktuell, Dutch actueel, French actuel, Romanian/Spanish/Catalan/Galician actual, Portuguese atual, Italian attuale, Czech aktuální, Polish aktualny).[10]
PossiblyEventuallyThe English adjective eventual has undergone a semantic widening (cf. the cognates in French éventuel, German eventuell, Italian Eventuale, Polish ewentualny, Danish eventuelt, Dutch eventueel).
To plan (for), include, provide (for)To foreseeFrench prévoir,[11] Italian prevedere, Dutch voorzien, German vorsehen (für)
We are offering a challenging position in our unit.We propose a challenging position in our unit.proposer in French and proporre in Italian mean "to offer" or "to suggest".
There were two of us at the party.We were two at the party.The personal pronoun we is used in Latin languages, and required in Slavic languages (through declension).
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: Italian Come si chiama?, German Wie heißt es?, French Comment ça s'appelle?, Polish Jak to się nazywa?.
Please, enter your PIN code below.Please, introduce your PIN code below.introduire in French can mean "to insert" or "to type in", the same in Portuguese with "introduzir" or in Spanish with "introducir". (introduce is an Engish word coming from Latin introducere)
In the end I am staying in France.Finally I am staying in France.Finally is not commonly used to describe an ultimate decision. Spanish Finalmente, French Finalement, Italian Finalmente.
On the other handOn the other sideCommonly used by Latin languages speakers. Also compare Swedish å andra sidan
Specifyto precise or precisionPrecisare in Italian.
To have or possess.Dispose ofHave one's disposal means have free use of. Of unknown origin, known usage: Essere a disposizione (literally: to be at disposal) in Italian.
Large or significantImportantLatin languages speakers commonly use Important meaning large or significant.
Commonly known asSo-calledProbably from German sogenannt.
Being opportune or opportunessOpportunityOpportunity means "the quality of being opportune".
Occasional or periodicPunctualPunctual is used to mean point-by-point or from time to time.
Areas of ExpertiseExpertisesLatin languages speakers often add an "s" at the end of uncountable nouns.
MonitorControlContrôler in French[12].
To attendAssistAssister in French, Asistir in Spanish[13].
EncourageInciteUnknown origin, known usage: Incitare in Italian.
the principle that legal decrees should be enacted as close to people as possibleSubsidiarity[14]Not known yet.
BureaucracyBerlaymont[15]Not known yet.
ConditionsConditionality[16]Used in European languages.
Six monthsSemester[17]Used in European languages.
He has retired to his officeHe has retired to his cabinetUnknown: [18] In French language, the word cabinet used to mean a small room away from a bigger one. The French word cabinet coming from the French word cabine of uncertain eventually English origin eventually linked to the French word cabane.
DeadlineDelay [19] Unknown: [20] eventually from the French délai used in the civil code to give a period to compute a time limit. The word délai was used in French by Chrétien de Troyes, sans délai meaning without deadline, the noun is based on the verb délaier (of uncertain origin) previously used in Couronnement Louis.
However Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union in its English version neither use the word deadline nor the word delay nor the expression time limit: it just says

The Treaties shall cease to apply (...) two years after the notification (...)

More specifically when the French original version contains the word délai, the english original version contains the word period.
PlanifyPlanificationFrom planify + ation.
Committee procedureComitologyIt was formed from the misspelled stem (committee has two m's, two t's) and the suffix ology/logy meaning the science of or the study of.
DoerActorOne who performs an act.
Quality of being an actorActornessActor + ness.
To refrain from doing somethingTo hop overUsed in Nordic European countries[21].
To be naiveTo be blue-eyedUsed in Nordic European countries[22]
To OverchargeTo Salt[23]Used in Nordic countries.
Domestic marketInternal marketUsed to distinguish trade within the EU from trade within the member state. The internal market of the EU is known as single market. The French word domestique is avoided in French language due to some pejorative meanings.
GuaranteeEnsureMake sure someone has what is needed. The French word garantie has a specific legal meaning in the French civil code.
BossHierarchical superiorBetter explanation of the role.
I come from SpainI am coming from SpainEnglish's grammar changed in Continental Europe[24]
Treat (to pay at a restaurant) Invite Used in European languages.

The English plural of the word euro was first defined as euro without final s, before becoming euros with a final s.

gollark: (I'm sure some people will be stupid and think they're entirely safe after just one...)
gollark: Especially since basically all the ones which have been tested, as far as I know, require two doses to work.
gollark: The main challenge is just actually getting enough vaccine produced and distributed to everyone.
gollark: Vaccine developers can hardly just go around faking clinical trials and getting the regulators to agree.
gollark: That seems unlikely unless you accidentally got targeted by an orbital laser strike.

See also

References
  1. https://www.eca.europa.eu/Other%20publications/EN_TERMINOLOGY_PUBLICATION/EN_TERMINOLOGY_PUBLICATION.pdf
  2. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  3. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  4. Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society.
  5. Mollin, Sandra (2006). Euro-English: Assessing Variety Status. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. p. 6. ISBN 382336250X.
  6. https://qz.com/679670/the-english-language-could-get-really-weird-if-britain-leaves-the-eu/
  7. Nordquist, Richard (21 March 2017). "Euro-English in Language". ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo, a Dotdash brand. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  8. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf
  9. https://www.ft.com/content/9c896238-3a0e-11e6-9a05-82a9b15a8ee7
  10. How to Write Clearly (PDF), Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission, retrieved 28 July 2018
  11. 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
  12. https://www.thoughtco.com/euro-english-language-1690614
  13. https://www.thoughtco.com/euro-english-language-1690614
  14. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  15. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  16. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  17. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  18. https://k-international.com/blog/funny-euro-english-words/
  19. https://qz.com/679670/the-english-language-could-get-really-weird-if-britain-leaves-the-eu/
  20. https://k-international.com/blog/funny-euro-english-words/
  21. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  22. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  23. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html
  24. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-latest-news-language-euro-english-uk-leave-eu-european-union-a7957001.html

Further reading
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