As the E.U.’s Language Roster Swells, So Does the Burden

It’s not easy to speak with one voice in 24 languages.

When what is now the European Union first took root in the 1950s, it included just six nations, and in three of them many people spoke French. It could sidestep national jealousies without trouble by designating most of the member nations’ main languages as official languages.

But that set a precedent, and as the union has grown much larger, so has the official language roster — not to mention the bill for translation and interpretation, which now runs to about 1 billion euros, or more than $1 billion, a year.

Defenders of the policy say it preserves diversity and promotes language learning. They contend that it is not to blame for the bloc’s repeated failure to speak as one over issues like migration, the economy and Russia.

Still, the polyglottery can be a bit of a strain, especially when it comes to tongues like Irish, which only a few Irish citizens use frequently outside the education system. Though Irish has been an official language of the union for a decade, member nations keep postponing the deadline for providing full Irish translation and interpretation services.

Liadh Ni Riada, an Irish member of the European Parliament, went on what she called a two-week language strike in 2015, speaking only Irish at work, to demonstrate her annoyance at the delays. She has threatened to do it again.

There is also a push to recognize Luxembourgish, the only national language of a member state that the union has not made official. Yet Luxembourgers also use German and French, and even their laws are all written in French. So the authorities are looking for a way to enhance the language’s status that would not entail a lot of translation and interpretation expense.