How good with languages are we Europeans? Since 12 new members joined the EU between 2004 and 2007, the role of languages and language learning has never been so important. Here are a couple of interesting figures about the EU.

English is the most common foreign language in the EU, as 38% of EU citizens reported in the Special Eurobarometer survey held in 2006. However, English is the mother tongue of between only 60 and 65 million EU citizens (12–13% of the total), together with French and Italian. So, what is most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU? German! In fact, Germany, Austria and all the other German-speaking areas inside the EU make up for around 90 million speakers, which is 18% of the population. After English, which has established itself as the lingua franca of Europe, we see German, French and then Spanish and Russian as the other most common acquired languages. Russian is spoken as foreign language by around 6% of EU citizens – the same percentage as Spanish – for historical and political reasons.

But what country has the best language skills? It might seem odd at first sight, but relatively small countries or countries whose language is not widespread are those performing better in languages, such as Sweden and the Netherlands. Unfortunately, Britain and Ireland lie at the bottom, since only 34% of the Irish and 38% of Brits claim to know a second language well enough to have a conversation. This is why it is vital to use professional legal translation services, in addition to any other official material, in order to avoid misunderstandings.

Also, although 28% of the interviewees said they speak 3 languages (their mother tongue and 2 foreign tongues), some countries – Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the UK – have half or even two thirds of their population only knowing their mother tongue. Well, let’s hope Veritas is contributing to changing this, at least in Britain! In addition to promoting multilingualism, we also provide many language-related services, including legal translation services for marriage certificates, contracts and other official documentation.

And after these depressing numbers, something to cheer us up: the European Day of Languages! It is held every year on the 26^th of September with the aim of raising awareness about EU languages and the importance of language learning to promote tolerance. So, get ready for September! Do you mark this day? Please share your experiences with us in the comments.

For more information about the services provided by Veritas, please visit the legal translation services page of our website.