English and Translation in the European Union

Alice Leal is Senior Lecturer at the University of Vienna, Austria.

• Table of contentsPrefaceIntroduction1. Language, meaning and identity: From mother tongue to lingua franca1.1 Introduction1.2 The classical paradigm and its legacy: Logos and affections of the soul1.3 A historical note on the rise of vernaculars: Cuius regio, eius lingua 1.4 The Enlightenment and its legacy: Language as an instrument for communication, as divine logos and as a nation’s genius 1.5 Linguistic turn and pragmatic turn: The enduring appeal of universalism1.6 Postmodernism, poststructuralism, deconstruction: Beyond the dichotomy universalism versus relativism 1.7 Introducing a lingua franca1.8 Multiples Englishes: Competing paradigms in liberation linguistics1.9 English as lingua franca: A neutral instrument for communication? 1.10 Final remarks Further readingReferences2. The EU and English as a "lingua franca": De jure multilingualism versus de facto monolingualism2.1 Introduction 2.2 De jure multilingualism: Herder would be proud2.3 The pecking order of EU languages: English, the other 23, European languages with no EU status, non-territorial and migrant languages 2.4 De facto monolingualism: Lockean instrumentality and the EU’s "lingua franca" 2.5 One language for communication, many for identification: Pernicious paradox or harmonic reality?2.6 Language policy: What, why, how?2.7 Education language policies: Foreign language teaching in the EU2.8 Final remarksFurther readingReferences3. Translation and the EU: The tension between unity versus multiplicity3.1 Introduction3.2 EU language services: Setup, numbers and language regimes3.3 Translations that are originals that are translations 3.4 Translations and originals: From belabouring the (seemingly) obvious to breaking free from the dichotomy 3.5 Intraduisible, intradução, untranslatable: Back with a bang 3.6 Unity versus multiplicity and the EU’s double responsibility: A necessary aporia3.7 "Invent gestures, discourses, politico-institutional practices": A language turn and a translation turn for a more multilingual EU3.8 Final remarksFurther readingReferences4. The EU as a community in formation in the wake of Brexit: For a new linguistic regime4.1 Introduction4.2 "Together in disunity": The EU as a common market and a community of shared fate in formation4.3 EU democracy, public sphere(s), nationalism and transnationalism: Juxtaposing and mixing identities4.4 Language contact and language dynamic: Ligatures without options4.5 Linguistic justice: English as friend and foe4.6 The future of English in the world: ELF, EFL, ELT 4.7 The future of English in the EU in the wake of Brexit4.8 Intercomprehension and transcultural skills: When others remain others4.9 Final remarksFurther readingReferences5. The future of language and translation in the EU: A language turn, a translation turn and a transcultural turn5.1 Introduction5.2 Language turn5.3 Translation turn5.4 Transcultural turn5.5 Urgent research needed5.6 Final remarksFurther readingReferencesFinal RemarksAnnex: Interview with DG Translation