Antenna Europe Direct Assemblea legislativa della Regione Emilia-Romagna

United in the diversity: the multilinguism in Europe

Since the first day of the European Youth Meeting, amid the several presentations to Palace of Accursio in Bologna that have given the welcome to the students and celebrated the beginning of the intense activities, an international air has been breathed: it was only the beginning of a great encounter of young students coming from countries with various cultures, traditions and languages, having in common just their the young age.
The 200 participants students to the Meeting, between the 16 and 18 years, coming from the 27 European Countries, (more Turkey and Norway) spoke in fact 23 various languages. Like in the European Union, where, its own maxim “united in the diversity”, is not at all meaningless.  

In spite of the official language of the Meeting that was English (like in the European Union), the participations of the several personalities, during the conventions that have been kept in those four days, have been in several languages - especially Italian or French. Instead the intense activities of the students were held in English, the final documents that had to produce also.  This has represented a limit for some, but never an insurmountable obstacle. As the two Belgian girls say, whom I have had the chance to know a little in these days: “everyone has its level of English, but this has not been a problem and has worked at best however”. If we imagine moreover that many of these students come from the Countries of the former Soviet Union, that they speak therefore the Russian, (…) it is understandable that a United Europe is possible, the multilinguism is effectively a force and these students are the demonstration.

During the first days of the Meeting I have succeeded to follow the first lessons in classroom with some groups of students. After the first turn of acquaintances the facilitator has asked the boys which, in their belief, should be their expectations and fears of the Meeting. The constant for the expectations will have turn out to be “the socialization”, for the fears instead “to speak in English”.
At the beginning the students studied themselves, nobody dared to speak more than the others, to risk, but slowly something changed and   the first to be felt speaking more where the Swedish students. They speak a flowing English, with no visible problems. Interrelating   with persons who do not speak your same language is a limit that I discovered on this occasion; “it limits proposing new ideas”, as the students of the Parma High school will say, it limits the raising of ulterior points of view. Luckily the Italian students were in a majority in the class thus they could help each other. However it would be useless to deny it, but they, the Italians are those which have more difficulties in English. The students from Parma will say, in fact, that “… in our group there were the girls of the linguistic school of Bologna, they have helped us in the translation of the texts…” Without no doubt who speaks better English is much more benefitted. The English it is used for speaking in the class for the rest of the situations the communication is carried through any channel. The communication is also not oral, informal and goes beyond this.

I have had in the following days the opportunity to observe also that there’s nobody who wants to prime on the others. On the contrary, there has been a strong collaboration between various linguistic groups. The limits imposed due to the English lack of knowledge slowly vanished. “The Italians speak English with a funny accent…” the two Belgian girls say.
The interaction is possible to various levels: the scope is not in fact to demonstrate the level of the English speaking but to collaborate, to participate, to think to the solutions, to cooperate, to be responsible and creative. And to have far perspectives, they have gone beyond linguistic barriers.

At the end of the intense activities the students exchanged the Facebook addresses: “We do not want to lose the contacts, we must remain connected with all Europe”. I have seen the socialization to prevail and the fear for English speaking barriers to become a marginal problem. The satisfaction to have made something of important will have gained by far on any territorial distance and linguistic difference.

  Elena Muscas

translated by Paula Benea