The French Minister for European Affairs Clement Bonnet expressed the opinion that the EU countries should use less English in official communication after Brexit and give preference to other languages.
It is reported by Politico.
According to Bonnet, the EU should abandon “broken” (meaning imperfect in communication by non-native speakers) English, which is official in an absolute minority of member states, but encourages “linguistic diversity.”
“After Brexit, it will be harder for people to understand why we all use broken English … Let’s get used to speaking other languages again,” Bonet said.
He noted that member countries now do almost all of their work communication in English.
The minister, however, did not specify what language he proposes to use as the main language instead. Bonnet himself has a good command of English.
After the final withdrawal of Britain from the EU, there are only two countries — Ireland and Malta — that use English as the official language, next to their native languages.
Although English has long been the main official language of the EU, there have been many complaints that “Brussels” English has become “broken”, acquiring specific features, atypical for the language among its speakers.
Along with English, European officials most often use French and German in their official communication. The official websites of the EU bodies, in particular the European Commission and the Council of the EU, have sections in the languages of all member states.
