The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union marked a significant shift, leaving the EU without a member state where English is the officially nominated language. While English holds official language status in Ireland and Malta, these nations prioritize their national languages, Irish and Maltese, for EU representation.
Despite Brexit, the influence of English within Europe remains strong. A 2012 European Commission study revealed that English was the most widely understood foreign language in the EU, spoken by 38% of those surveyed. Interestingly, native English speakers only constituted 13% of participants, ranking behind German (16%) and on par with Italian.
However, when considering usefulness, English surged to the forefront. Two-thirds of European citizens deemed English the most valuable language after their mother tongue, and a striking four out of five believed it crucial for their children’s education. Eurostat’s 2017 research further emphasized this, showing 95% of students across the bloc learning English as a second language.
Conversely, the prevalence of second language acquisition among UK citizens is notably low. This could be attributed, in part, to the dominance of English globally, reducing the perceived need to learn other languages. In 2016, Eurostat data indicated that 65% of Britons lacked proficiency in any foreign language, the highest percentage within the EU.
Yet, English is not exiting EU institutions alongside the UK. It remains an official EU language. Furthermore, a distinct, unofficial dialect rooted in English has emerged within the EU – Euro English. This unique linguistic phenomenon is arguably more intrinsic to the EU itself than to any individual member state, past or present.
Defining Euro English: More Than Just Mistakes
So, what exactly is Euro English? According to German MEP Terry Reintke, from the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, it’s “a little bit of a messy use of English.” She elaborates, “It’s people trying to express themselves in English but very often taking direct translations from their native languages, plus adding to that a kind of technocratic language that comes from the European institutions.” This blend arises in multilingual meetings where English serves as the common tongue, often without interpretation services.
In essence, Euro English is a practical, hybrid form of the language used daily within EU circles. It’s a melting pot of bureaucratic jargon, British English influences, the diverse English spoken by non-native speakers (complete with typical errors), and borrowed terms from the EU’s 23 other official languages.
The term “Euro-English” was first coined in 1986 by German linguist Broder Carstensen. He predicted, “The English these people use is also a kind of Euro-English, and it is obvious that it will be rather different from the real present-day English usage that was its original model.”
Reintke, who lived in England and Scotland before working at the European Parliament, confirms this. She recognized Euro English as a distinct vernacular, different from the British English she knew and something she had to adapt to.
She offers concrete examples of Euro English peculiarities. One common trait is pluralizing uncountable nouns. “The most obvious are [words] that in real English, British English, we wouldn’t use [as] a plural. The most common is ‘information’ – in Euro English, people take it directly from their own language and say ‘informations’ [similar to the French plural ‘les informations’].”
English as a lingua franca is very flexible – we change our language according to who we’re speaking to.
Heath Rose, Oxford University
Another example Reintke highlights, based on observations from her Irish flatmate who also works for the EU, is the question tag “non?”. Instead of using varied question tags like “isn’t it?” or “don’t I?”, Euro English speakers often simplify to “non?”, a question format common in many European languages. For instance, “I play football, non?”.
Reintke also points to vocabulary differences. The term “home office,” which in British English refers to a government department, is used in Euro English with a different, more literal meaning, often causing confusion for native English speakers.
Other typical Euro English phrases include using “possibility” instead of “opportunity,” mirroring the French “la possibilité” which encompasses both meanings. Similarly, the possessive structure “the pen of my aunt,” common in Romance languages, might be favored over the more natural English “my aunt’s pen.”
Technology-related vocabulary also shows divergence. “SMS” is often used instead of “text,” and “Handy,” derived from German, replaces “mobile phone.” The phrase “what do you call it?” frequently becomes “how do you call it?”, reflecting similar phrasing in Italian, French, German, and Polish.
In Euro English, “occasional” is often substituted with “punctual,” and “finally” might be used where native speakers would say “in the end,” as in “Finally, I decided to stay in Brussels.”
Is Euro English a Legitimate Dialect or Simply Errors?
Some academics dismiss Euro English features as mere learner errors. This perspective is reflected in a 2016 European Court of Auditors report titled “Misused English Words and Expressions in EU Publications,” intended for internal staff. This report, one of the few official records of Euro English (despite its unofficial status), highlights grammatical inaccuracies.
Jeremy Gardner, the report’s author, argues that many errors stem from a lack of understanding regarding countable and uncountable nouns, a concept seemingly overlooked in English language education across European schools. He cites examples like misuse of words like “action,” “aid,” “competence,” and “training.”
However, beyond formal documents and error correction, Euro English exists as a practical reality within the EU bubble. One EU official told Euronews that “Euro English does not officially exist,” yet its presence is undeniable in spoken communication. “It’s not something that easy to grasp if you’re not in the European institutions bubble,” they explained.
This official clarifies that Euro English is less visible in written texts that undergo editing. “It’s when you don’t have an editor scrubbing your text that you will see it coming to life. It’s more something you hear during meetings and informal conversations. I think it’s just something that happens naturally when you have non-native speakers who are using a second or third language – it becomes some kind of dialect.”
The official, a native French speaker, also notes the frequent incorporation of French words into Euro English conversations. “Because a lot of people know French or German as a second or third language, they will use words from these languages whenever they cannot find the proper term in English. So in the middle of a conversation someone will use a French word to describe something, and most people in the room will understand it, and no one is [phased] by that.”
This insider perspective emphasizes that Euro English functions as an “insider language,” complete with its own jargon. Terms like “missions,” used to describe routine EU work assignments, initially sounded “glamorous, like secret agents” to newcomers, highlighting the unique vocabulary within the EU context.
Interestingly, Euro English is not exclusive to non-native speakers. Native English speakers working within EU institutions also adopt its characteristics. The EU official notes, “Native English speakers definitely use it too. I think it would be hard to avoid because everyone’s using it… There are certain sayings or words that are more understandable to everyone so I think they see it that they have to make some sacrifices [of their language]. I think at some point they don’t even think about it, after a while it becomes natural and you don’t overthink it, it’s part of daily life.”
Reintke’s Irish flatmate is a prime example, reportedly adopting Euro English expressions and usages to the point where they noticed a shift in their English even back home in Ireland.
While Euro English might serve to “consolidate an identity” within the EU community, according to Heath Rose, an associate professor of applied linguistics at Oxford University, he argues against classifying it as a distinct dialect. He believes it’s more accurately described as an example of the inherent flexibility of English as a global language.
“Euro English is a term that’s a very neat idea, that some people have gotten attached to, but I haven’t seen a lot of evidence that it is a dialect in itself. In order for something to be a dialect it needs to be quite stable, it needs to have features that have been shown to be very stable,” Rose explains.
“English as a lingua franca is very flexible – we change our language according to who we’re speaking to, their language background, what language community they’re from, their proficiency level, so I think at the moment the English-using community is very diverse so we can’t really peg a single dialect as being representative of English used [in Europe].”
Robert McColl Millar, a professor of linguistics and Scottish language at the University of Aberdeen, shares this skepticism. “I’m not so sure about Euro English. There is a tendency for a stripped down mid-Atlantic variety being used by very good non-native speakers, but I’m not convinced that this is as well developed as other non-native varieties like South Asian English.”
John Joseph, a professor of applied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, echoes this view. “My belief is that Euro English isn’t a unified language or dialect, but a catch-all term for a wide range of varieties of English used by non-native speakers on the continent, and which are occasionally reflected in documents emanating from the EU – although the EU institutions employ, and probably will continue to employ, a large contingent of native English speakers who will ‘nativise’ the language of such documents.”
The Lingering Influence of British English in Europe
Despite Brexit and the rise of Euro English, British English, as the parent language, is unlikely to disappear from EU institutions. Professor McColl Millar notes, “In relation to the EU, I cannot envisage a time when English doesn’t assume considerable importance. It will, I would imagine, be the preferred language in the European Parliament and in other central bodies by the Nordic, Balkan and Baltic countries at least, given that the chances of simultaneous interaction between, say, Estonian and Maltese would be pretty unlikely.”
He further emphasizes the global dominance of English, “Plus, English is spoken by the present superpower (the USA) and seems to be preferred by the coming one (China) as the language of external communication.”
Professor Joseph concurs, acknowledging the practical necessity of English. “Although it is possible that in the medium to long term this will change – presuming the EU survives in its present form, which of course is not a given.”
I’m a very big fan of British English, I find it really beautiful, and people would not necessarily say that about Euro English.
Terry Reintke, MEP
Regarding Ireland’s choice of Irish as its official EU language, Professor Joseph sees it as “an ‘act of identity’ which was of no consequence so long as the UK was in the EU. Now that it isn’t, Ireland will have to make the choice between taking a pragmatic or an ideological course.”
Professor Rose also believes practicality will outweigh ideology in maintaining English as a key EU working language. He highlights the widespread learning of English across Europe, “I think it’s 96 per cent of pupils across the EU [that] study English as a foreign language in schools, and the next one down from that is French at 23 per cent, so at the moment there is just such a big gap… that it’ll take a while for that to really change.”
He points out the sheer scale of English language education investment across the continent and the relatively low uptake of other foreign languages beyond English. “Even though the EU has an initiative that encourages learning two or more foreign languages… a lot of European countries are not really following that guidance, and so a lot of students are not exposed to an additional foreign language beyond English.”
English: A Neutral Language in the EU?
With no EU member state officially nominating English, it has arguably transitioned into a more neutral communication tool. No longer tied to a specific nation within the bloc, English may be perceived as less politically charged than languages like French or German. As the EU insider suggests, “I think if you’re using another language it could be perceived as like, this country is trying to have greater influence. With English, this is less likely to be the case.”
Professor Rose agrees that English has, for many Europeans, detached from its British origins. “I think nowadays a lot of Europeans probably don’t even think of English as necessarily belonging to the United Kingdom. They probably see English as a European lingua franca, so I think that would be very hard to change both practically and in terms of the way that it’s actually used.”
He further argues that the UK’s departure removes political obstacles to English usage. “In many ways [the UK having left the EU] takes the political argument out of it. If English is no longer the nominated language of any of its users, then it can kind of serve a more egalitarian role.”
The Future Trajectory of Euro English
MEP Reintke believes Brexit could even foster the growth of Euro English, allowing it to further develop independently from British English influence. She anticipates Euro English continuing as the EU’s lingua franca, evolving with more linguistic contributions from other European languages. “I think it would be interesting to do a study about it, maybe have some linguists look at how English is being used right now and then maybe look in 10, 20 years, and see how things have changed.”
Thus, Britain’s most enduring legacy within the EU might be its language, albeit in the evolving form of Euro English. Reintke, despite acknowledging its imperfections, appreciates Euro English for its functional value. “I’m a very big fan of British English, I find it really beautiful, and people would not necessarily say that about Euro English… It’s not really beautiful, not in the most obvious sense, but if you look at it in a deeper sense… I mean, we have fought against each other, there have been wars on this continent, and now we come together in the parliament, and at least we are trying to communicate.”
