Dealing with Multilingualism in the European Union: Cultural Theory Rationalities and Language Policies

Abstract

The EU currently has 11 official and working languages. There is a considerable amount of dissatisfaction regarding both the practicalities and the costs of institutional multilingualism and the ongoing linguistic homogenization through the informal use of international English, but politicians are careful to avoid this sensitive issue because there seems to be no possible compromise between improving EU-wide communication and respecting national linguistic identities. This article applies grid-group cultural theory to reveal alternative ways to conceptualize communication between individuals who speak different languages, and consequently to identify strategies to overcome linguistic barriers and to justify linguistic policies for supranational institutions and transnational encounters.