Language disenfranchisement in the European union

Ginsburgh, Victor;Weber, Shlomo
(2005) Journal of Common Market Studies — Vol. 43, n° 2, p. 273-286 (2005)

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  • Ginsburgh, VictorUCLouvain
    Author
  • Weber, ShlomoUCLouvain
    Author
Abstract
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.
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Ginsburgh, V., & Weber, S. (2005). Language disenfranchisement in the European union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 43(2), 273-286. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9886.2005.00555.x (Original work published 2005)