'Social glue': Why it's no surprise European states are toughening language requirements
Several European countries require the knowledge of the local language to obtain permanent residence or citizenship, and more are introducing such policies or toughening up the level required.
In 2024, France passed a law requiring French language tests for certain types of residency card.
Sweden is currently moving ahead with language requirements for citizenship. Italy also started to demand a language test when applying for naturalisations by marriage in 2018.
And across the Atlantic, President Donald Trump has just signed into law that English is to be the US official language. Why are languages becoming such an important factor in residence and citizenship policies?
Carmen Silvestri, a linguist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, says 'this trend is not surprising in current times given the rise of nationalist parties'.
Languages as an element of national identity and belonging are historically linked to the birth of the nation-state, in 1700-1800, she says.
'Nationalism remains the foundation of the nation-state. There is no nationalism without 'social glue', and language is the most obvious one,' Dr Silvestri argues.
National identity
According to a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, a US-based think tank, many people say that speaking the local language is what makes someone 'truly' belong in a country, followed by sharing its customs and traditions, and being born there.
Views vary by country, age, education and ideology. Younger and educated people are less likely to see the language as important for belonging, while supporters of right-wing populist parties are more likely to consider it essential.
In Europe, Hungary has the largest share of respondents (74 percent) saying that speaking the local language is key for national identity.
France and the Netherlands follow with 64 percent. Greece stands at 63 percent, Germany at 62 and Poland at 60 percent. In Italy and the UK the share was 58 percent and in Sweden 52, although it reached 83 percent for supporters of the hard-right party Sweden Democrats.
Silvestri says: "Before the nation-state, religion was the identity marker or the 'social glue' linking diverse communities by a shared sacred message and spiritual tradition.
"The birth of the nation-state created a new social construct using other tools to imagine people as one community, and the language was the most immediate one.
"This process was accelerated by the invention of print and the advent of newspapers, which started to spread information using a common language, and the secularisation process after the French Revolution."
Today in Europe, the Pew research reveals, being part of the predominant religion of a country is the least important factor for the perception of identity, with the highest rates recorded in Greece and Poland (19 percent), followed by Italy (15 percent), the Netherlands (12), Hungary (8), Germany and Spain (6), France (5), and Sweden (3).
Multicultural societies
Compared to Europe, in Canada and the US only 49 and 48 percent respectively of participants in the Pew survey said that language is an important factor of belonging.
Dr Silvestri explains the different attitude saying that 'both Canada and the US have an important history of migration and they started as multicultural societies, so there are other factors at play to determine the national identity'.
On the other hand, 38 and 34 percent respectively said it is 'very important to follow local customs in order to truly belong', a share as high as 62 and 60 percent in Hungary and Greece, 42 percent for Italy and Spain, but declines to 39 percent in France, 25 percent in Germany and 17 percent in Sweden.
This can also be explained through a nationalist lens as people access local customs and traditions 'through the knowledge of the language,' Dr Silvestri says.
Multilingualism
In such a context, and with nationalist parties on the rise across Europe, what is the role of multilingualism?
Dr Silvestri says 'multilingualism has no correspondence with national identity'.
'If national identity has correspondence with the language, multilingualism is not a factor of identity or belonging. It is a tool to access texts and to communicate," she said.
"It helps to connect social groups, and while it is important to have a socio-linguistic root in the native language, multilingualism helps to connect, collaborate, share, and also understand otherness developing a wider view of communities beyond the boundaries of national identity.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Norway
8 hours ago
- Local Norway
Passenger compensation for flight delays set to decrease in Europe
Airline passengers in the EU enjoy the world's most generous system of compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled. However these rights seem set to decrease after the European Council agreed to an overhaul of compensation rules, following intense lobbying from the airline industry. The agreement to extend delay times and cut compensation levels was made at a European Council summit, despite opposition from Germany and Spain. Controversially, the Council bypassed discussions with the European Parliament and made its decision legally binding using a process that has not been deployed in more than a decade. Advertisement However the European Parliament can still make changes to the new rules - it has four months to respond with a proposal that must be backed by a majority of 361 MEPs. So what changes? The ruling doesn't scrap all the customer protections, but it changes the rules on compensation payments - changing both the payment amounts and the delay time after which compensation rules kick in. Under current EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation rules, passengers can claim between €250 and €600 in compensation if a flight is delayed by at least three hours, if the delay is the fault of the airline. Under the agreed changes, compensation will only be due after a four-hour delay for flights of less than 3,500 kilometres. For longer flights, airlines would be obliged to pay compensation if flights land at least six hours late, compared to the current three-hour standard. Under the new rules, €300 compensation will apply for delays of more than four hours – while €500 will be payable for delays of more than six hours involving flights of more than 3,500km. In exchange for the higher delay thresholds, airlines will have to streamline the complex and obfuscatory compensation process - in which many airlines make it very complicated to claim financial compensation but very easy to claim airline vouchers. There is also a strengthening of the rights for passengers with a disability. And what doesn't change? Other compensation rules remain unchanged, especially around the 'extraordinary circumstances' definition which covers whether airlines have to provide any compensation at all. Compensation for delays or cancellations is not paid if the problem is due to 'extraordinary circumstances' – the exact definition of this in the legislation is vague but it generally applies to situations like extreme weather, political instability, security risks or problems with air traffic control. Advertisement Strikes are usually not considered to be extraordinary circumstances, neither are routine mechanical problems or staff shortages. The rules cover airlines that are registered in the EU – such as the Ireland-based Ryanair – or flights taking off from an EU or Schengen zone country. Since Brexit the rules no longer apply to the UK, but the British government has mostly "copied and pasted" it into UK legislation. READ ALSO Fears EU plans to 'water down' air passengers' rights in review Also unchanged are rules on flight cancellations and airlines responsibility to provide food, accommodation and alternative travel for passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled. In truth this is not well policed - passengers are often simply told to make their own arrangements for accommodation and alternative travel and submit compensation claims to the airline later. Airlines do, however, routinely provide refreshments, usually in the form of food vouchers to passengers whose flights are delayed. Why the change? In a word - lobbying. Airlines had argued that the compensation payments were too high, especially for budget airlines where the compensation may be higher than the cost of the ticket. Airlines also said that they were unable to provide a replacement aircraft and crew within three hours in many European locations, and that this can lead to additional flights being cancelled because high compensation payments have already been incurred. READ ALSO What are your rights in Europe if your flight is delayed or cancelled? When does this happen? The change is not immediate, first the European Parliament has four months to stage any objections and if no objection is received, then an introduction date will be set. So we can say for sure that this summer holiday period will still be covered by the old rules.
Local Norway
2 days ago
- Local Norway
Norway government agrees tax for areas hit by overtourism
The deal was struck after a group of mayors from the Lofoten islands travelled to Oslo on Monday to lobby the government and parliament after the parliament's business committee opted to limit the long-discussed tourist tax to visiting cruise ships. The three parties have a majority in the parliament, meaning the new tax was certain to be voted on when it comes before this parliament on Wednesday June 4th. "We have agreed on an effective model on visiting fees for areas with particular challenges, like the Tromsø region and the Lofoten Islands," the Centre Party MP Erling Sande, who leads the business committee, told the TV2 broadcaster . The tax will be levied on accommodation and cruise ships, but not on caravans, motorhomes, recreational boats or camping. Municipalities will be eligible to levy the tax if they can document "real pressure on infrastructure". Sande said the details over what would count as "real pressure" still needed to be finalised. "There are a handful of areas in our country. We see it in the Tromsø region, we see it in Lofoten, and there are some other places around the country where there is a particularly high load." The government's original plan for a 3 percent tax on accommodation was dropped by the committee last Wednesday at the last minute, with the committee instead opting to limit the tax to cruise ships. The government had already reduced the proposed rate for the accommodation sector from 5 to 3 percent this spring, bringing it in line with taxes in many European cities, but had left out cruise and campervan tourists. READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Norway's planned tourist tax Advertisement Municipalities were then, as now, granted discretion over whether to implement the tax, but the focus of the tax still drew anger from some business groups for missing its intended targets. Six mayors from Lofoten travelled to Oslo on Monday to try to revive the tourist tax on accommodation, as they did not believe that a cruise tax would be enough to solve the problems with overtourism in their communities.
Local Norway
4 days ago
- Local Norway
Tesla bucks trend in Norway with rising sales
Norwegians have flocked back to the US brand as it offered zero-interest loans and a new Model Y, the best-selling car in the country for three months running. Norway is the country with the highest proportion of election vehicles (EV), making up 93.9 percent of new car registrations in May, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). EVs made up 92.7 percent of new car registrations in the first five months of the year. Tesla regained the title of leading car brand in the Scandinavian country in May, tripling its sales and accounting for 18.2 percent of new cars sold. For the first five months of the year, Tesla sales increased by 8.3 percent -- lower than the overall new car market which grew by 30.6 percent. Advertisement Over that period, Tesla had a market share of 12.9 percent, second to German auto giant Volkswagen. Tesla sales fell by half in the European Union in April, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). The company's EU market share dropped to 1.1 percent amid growing competition from Chinese rivals and consumers protesting Musk's politics and ties to US President Donald Trump. "Looking at Tesla sales in Norway in May and for the year so far, we stand out from the rest of Europe, where sales of this brand have seen a noticeable decline," OFV director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement. Jonathan Parr, an analyst at used-car dealer Rebil, told broadcaster TV2 that "ultimately, it's the price that Norwegian motorists care about most." "Norwegians don't like Musk but feel no shame owning a Tesla," Parr explained. In recent months, Norwegian media have nonetheless reported several stories of Tesla owners deciding to part ways with their cars or refrain from buying another Tesla. Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, has adopted a goal that this year all new cars should be zero-emission vehicles.
