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Draft:European Federation of National Institutions for Language

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  • Comment: The tone of this article is not neutral. There also needs to be sources from outside EFNIL and its conferences that describe it in a substantive manner. Reconrabbit 18:31, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
EFNIL logo

The European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL) is an organisation that seeks to work at a European and national level to promote European linguistic diversity, with a specific focus on the official languages of the European Union.[1] Membership is open to a maximum of two subscribing national language organisations from each EU state, and also to one associated language institution from countries outside the EU (and typically from the European continent).

History

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The organisation was formally established at its first conference in 2003, in Stockholm.[2] At first its membership was based on those EU member states which then formed the EU. As a result of European enlargement it expanded to encompass the various countries who subsequently joined the EU. After Brexit, the United Kingdom's status changed from full to associate member in 2020. Previously a loose confederation of members, in order to pursue its objectives more effectively the organisation registered itself as a non-profit organisation ("organisme sans but lucrative") within the EU in 2016.

Structure

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EFNIL conference in Ljubljana, 2023

EFNIL is managed by an Executive Committee drawn from its membership, and a Secretariat (currently based in Budapest, from July 2025 in Mannheim) which oversees its administrative and financial  functions. Major decisions are approved by its General Assembly of members, meeting before each annual conference, The annual thematic conference facilitates the exchange of information between members and is a focus for the advancement and endorsement of collaborative European linguistic research projects among language institutions.

EFNIL currently has 41 members and associated members. Their latest member and associated member, the Czech Republic and Ukraine, joined in 2022.[3]

Organisational growth and activities

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In its early years the organisation discovered that it needed to align the aspirations of member states with differing objectives, often based on a north-south European axis. Countries had different views of the extent to which language planning was required within their territory (e.g. the degree to which language stability rested upon central legislation, the possible extents of spelling reform, and the optimum requirements for foreign-language teaching and acquisition). A major difficulty was always the English language: how should members promote their own language and heritage when it appeared that many of their fellow citizens considered, for pragmatic reasons, that access to the English language (in everyday use and as a medium for teaching and research, especially in universities) would enhance their life chances.[4] This trend raises the question of how to balance such practical demands with the need to promote multilingualism and preserve the rich linguistic diversity across Europe.[5]

After a tentative start, EFNIL decided to organise a number of projects to discover the facts about language use within its members' territories. It launched its European Language Monitor, which aims to provide an overview of language legislation and language planning in Europe. The survey contributes to linguistic research exploring current trends in European language policies regarding the status of the official EU languages[6] and studies exploring online European language policies.[7]

Another initiation of EFNIL is the European Languages and their Intelligibility in the Public Sphere, which researches the use of European languages as instruments of communication for government, legislation and public administration.

Since 2019 EFNIL has funded its Master's Thesis Award (an annual competition to find the best master's theses in Europe on language use, language policy, and multilingualism). Up to 2024, 14 students with outstanding Master's theses have been rewarded.[8][9][10]

International cooperation

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Following the conclusions (2022/C 160/07) of the Council of the European Union which suggests in point 25 that the European Commission "Offer a multilingual information space on European language technologies and related support and resources, including European schemes for plurilingualism and translation, in conjunction with bodies such as the European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL)", EFNIL maintains close contact with relevant directorates of the European Commission.[11][12][13]

Since 2015 EFNIL has been a member of the professional network forum of the European Center for Modern Languages (ECML).[14]

EFNIL is also a partner of the European Language Equality[15] Project in which partner organisations have formulated a comprehensive strategic agenda for research, innovation, and implementation, creating a roadmap aimed at achieving complete digital language equality throughout Europe by the year 2030.

References

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  1. ^ Secrétariat général du Conseil Destinataire. "Council conclusions on Reinforcing intercultural exchanges through the mobility of artists and cultural and creative professionals, and through multilingualism in the digital era".
  2. ^ Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache. "Wieder ein Fest der europäischen Sprachen".
  3. ^ Kitsoft. "Уповноважений із захисту державної мови - March 21, 2023 - the first anniversary of Ukraine's accession to the European Federation of National Institutions for Language". mova-ombudsman.gov.ua. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  4. ^ Simpson, John (2016). The Word Detective. p. 300.
  5. ^ Somssich, R. "What language for Europe?". Elte Lj (103).
  6. ^ Kirchmeier, Sabine (2020). "Trends in European Language Policies With a View to Language Technology". Standard Language / Bendrinė kalba (93). ISSN 2351-7204.
  7. ^ Kirchmeier, Sabine (2019). European Language Monitor – Exploring European Language Policies On-Line. In: Proceedings of the Language Technologies for All (LT4All) (PDF). p. 332-334.
  8. ^ "Agnes Kim erhält EFNIL Master's Thesis Award". www.dioe.at (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  9. ^ Traczyk, CKC UW-Konrad. "News". Polish Eurolect (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  10. ^ "EFNIL-Preis für Masterarbeiten zu Sprachgebrauch, Mehrsprachigkeit und Sprachenpolitik in Europa – Institut für Germanistik an der Universität Wien" (in German). 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  11. ^ "Official Journal C 160/2022". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  12. ^ "Merit-Ene Ilja on LinkedIn: #eulanguagediversity #translationstudies #multilingualism #eulanguages..." www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  13. ^ "EFNIL_Vilnius2022_07_Ruiz-Calavera-Opening_Online.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  14. ^ "ECML/CELV > About us > professional network forum". www.ecml.at. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  15. ^ https://european-language-equality.eu/
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