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Language disenfranchisement in the European union

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Ginsburgh, Victor [UCL] Weber, Shlomo [UCL]

This article introduces the notion of language disenfranchisement which arises if the number of EU working languages is reduced and some EU citizens are denied the use of their own language for official purposes. We use data on language proficiency in the EU and show that, in spite of the widespread knowledge of English, the retention of French and German as working languages is essential to avoid a high degree of disenfranchisement of EU citizens. We also argue that, even though French is the second leading language within the EU, the recent enlargement could change that situation.

Document type Article de périodique (Journal article) – Article de recherche
Publication date 2005
Language Anglais
Journal information "Journal of Common Market Studies" - Vol. 43, no. 2, p. 273-286 (2005)
Peer reviewed yes
Publisher Blackwell Publishing (Oxford)
issn 0021-9886
e-issn 1468-5965
Publication status Publié
Affiliation UCL - ESPO/ECON - Département des sciences économiques
Links
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Bibliographic reference Ginsburgh, Victor ; Weber, Shlomo. Language disenfranchisement in the European union. In: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 43, no. 2, p. 273-286 (2005)
Permanent URL http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/39736