Jordi
Cassany Bates (University of Bucharest)
I
That’s
grandeur! By learning French, an
Italian fashion designer gains some further understanding of Catalan-Valencian and, to a
lesser extent, Castilian and Portuguese, even Romanian as well as Sardinian, Occitan, Galician, etc.–. Merci! It could always come in handy while dressing different brunette
models. However, if s/he is actually planning a tour through several Latin capital cities, then parler French is quite a détour –especially now that it’s also démodé. Although they also parlar in Barcelona (and toulouse), it’s hablar in Madrid or falar in Lisbon (and Santiago de Compostela), never mind a
vorbi in Bucharest. A détour just as the English language would have been for speakers of
Germanic spreeken back in the times
when la langue française was the lingua franca.
I
wonder how people in the cold north coped while it reigned (Napoleon’s langue, I mean). Down here it was sunny.
For us, the Latins, it’s much easier to learn. Even as a rather odd –let’s be
honest– Romance language (don’t tell the French, but it’s true; just consider
it’s named after the Franks, a
Germanic tribe!), it still was learnable. Unlike anglais nowadays, since Queen Victoria and later Uncle Sam took
over the reins. So, has our stylish Italian friend managed to learn it at all? How does s/he communicate in all those
Latin cities? Can they speak it?
Well,
if no common Roman lingua (Latin or
French) or Barbarian tongue (English)
is available, speakers naturally resort to the good old techniques of accomodation
(partial assimilation) and intercomprehension. Big words for a trick Italian
tourists often play while meeting new amigos
in Madrid: they say “Hola” and then carry
on the conversation in Italian, which is very understandable there. Just as
Spaniards in Rome can say “Ciao” to amichi
(or is it amici? who cares). So in informal
situations like these, as well as when it comes to reading, Romance languages
can still function, in a way, as “dialects” of the same language: Romance, the living
Latin, even 15 centuries after the fall of Rome!
This
wonder is possible because, well, this is a Mediterranean family, you know. We
are very close. The preservation, until recently really, of our beloved lingua latina (la mamma!) as the language of culture has avoided divergence and
provided coordination (Romanian, the rebel child, escaped some parental control,
though, during an affair with Church Slavonic, hmm). On top of that, the
intense historical exchanges between Latin countries (always la mafia!) have resulted in a great deal
of linguistic (and cultural) re-union (fiestas!).
Therefore, we understand each other quite well. Ish, now and then we do have some
drama (temperamento!).
But
after the play, we work. So let’s go back to our trendy fashion designer and
his/her presentation tour (by the way, we don’t distinguish between “his” and
“her” in Romance). How do the Latin people intercommunicate in more formal situations?
Intercomprehension and accomodation can still happen. Nevertheless, missunderstandings
and an improvised mixed lingo just don’t
seem suitable at a business meeting or in a commercial e-mail (clarity and
style are important!). So yes, those who can speak “British” (which is like
calling Castilian “Spanish”), they use it, of course. It eases communication
and looks professional nowadays; BUT using a Germanic language amongst Latins
is actually absurd, and a betrayal of our common heritage. Can’t you hear
Caesar’s words, lamenting this new treason? Tu quoque, fili mi! He would turn in his grave if he knew that
even Latin tourists are joining the conspiracy now! Is there really no other
option?
Now
think of those newly refined northern Vikings. They very much appreciate our sublime
art, fine wines, warm weather, fiestas
and siestas. They take a break here
every year (no more plundering, thank goodness). And they come speaking English
(now they rejoice!). However, is it of much use here? Maybe the Portuguese
and the Romanians, who watch all those American films in the original language
(with subtitles), have got used to English (replying is another issue).
Nevertheless, overall Latins stick with pride to their languages (even in the Eurovision
contest, with the lingua de Camões winning
in 2017!). So our northern visitors have no choice but to learn some Romance if
they are wishing to interact outside hotels and restaurants.
Which
variety of Romance should a non-Latin person learn? Let’s consider their
advantages outside their borders. We’ve already discarded la langue de Molière, oui. Catalans will
quickly step in and suggest (how presumptuous!) that their llengua de Ramon Llull is –together with its twin the lenga dels trobadors– a halfway Romance, as a
result of its geography. Yet, who cares about them? With la lengua de Cervantes you can also enjoy fados or order a pizza, even a paella. However, it's not a middle point
(even less so its Iberian sister –together with this one's twin, the lingua de Rosalía–), especially not if you are still planning to climb
a metallic tour or explore ghostly
castles. Good luck with the limba lui
Eminescu (despite the enthusiastic Latin identity of its speakers). A
better entrance into Romance and its various passions is offered by the
conservative lingua di Dante,
which has often kept the original proto-Romance form from which other languages
have later revolted: bĕne (Lat.) > bène (Proto-Rom. and Ita.) > bine, bien, ben, bem, bé. Not always, though:
bŏnam (Lat.) > bòna (Proto-Rom. and Cat.) > buona (Ita.), buena, bona, bonne, boa, bună. The ideal
language would combine bène ‘well’
and bòna ‘good’,
which encompass and explain the different variants.
That’s
why the efficient Germans, fed up with our chaos, just start off with Latin.
Many have spent years, with discipline, learning the language of Rome (all
roads lead to it!). It certainly helps as an introduction. Nevertheless, it’s a
central door into Romance from the back (don’t get me wrong!): a 2000-year-long
détour! It’s true that classical
Latin has been modernized over the centuries, with new words as new concepts
have appeared (we get a titiatio from
the Pope every day). However, remember that apart from its pronunciation –and
only partially– our traditional common standard has barely been updated to the
general grammatical evolution of the living language (what do we need
declensions for now?). And as a result it has become incomprehensible, like Old
Greek for modern Greeks.
Its
updating was hindered by the lack of political unity after the fall of the Imperium Romanum as well as –in my
opinion– by Latin's additional role as an international language in large areas
of Christianity, where a new Rome managed to extend its hold (imperialism
again, oops). Those people outside the old borders, including God, just
couldn’t be bothered with evolution! Lingua
aeterna. So eventually, each Latin country just rolled up its sleeves and
made a local up-date for internal use. Et voilà
what we now call Romance languages. But the wind has changed direction now.
Communication with other Latin people has increased extraordinarily (Erasmus!) and Latin countries, both in
Europe and in America, are in ever closer contact. In addition to that, our
fellow Europeans need a central door into Romance from the front.
Already
some decades ago, Rebecca Posner (University of Oxford) said that creating a
Romance interlanguage “is not beyond the bounds of possibility” (The Romance languages.1996: 344). (New)
standards for Greek, Czech, Afrikaans, Basque or Romansh, just to name some examples
from different families, were developed in the 20th century by
specialists. This is called codification,
and it’s a branch of applied linguistics. So an updating of our Latin common
standard language is possible. And it’s long overdue (no more mañana, mañana!). Will and the help of scientific
methodology is all we need to start the ball rolling (users will finish the
job, as usual). As a matter of fact, an international project, Vía Neolatina,
has been working on such a codification for over a decade already. A new pan-Romance
language, a synthesis of the existing variation that can be representative of
Romance as a whole, will be proposed in the near future. The first version is
already available at www.neolatino.eu
(have a look!). It’s like an improved Italian, with bène and bòna.
II
Of
course, Latins converge in present Europe in contact with two big language families
more (Germanic and Slavic), and smaller groups. So they not only need a neolatino to communicate amongst
themselves but also some way to interact with other Europeans. We need a common
strategy here. Luckily, the Slavic and Germanic families are also working towards
their own linguistic convergence. And, believe it or not, it’s the east
Europeans that are leading this complementary movement. Their Interslavic,
which is receiving a lot of attention in the press, has been used in a new
film, ‘The
painted bird’, based on a story that takes place in an
indeterminate Slavic region. Bravo! So
we are getting there: Neolatin, Interslavic and Germanic. Three languages.
Language families in Europe. Image: Adapted from
Wikimedia
Precisely,
the EU’s
goal at the moment is that every European should speak 3 languages. However,
it’s mother tongue + two more whichever! This linguistic policy is politically correct
but leads to dispersion and so doesn’t solve Europe’s communication needs. As a
result, the global language marches into our continent and the de facto policy ends up being “American”
(nowadays, who knows what could come in the future: Mandarin perhaps?). So even
if we score that “multilingualism goal” (as it’s officially called), who is
winning the match is monolingualism. And it’s the visitor (E pluribus unum is their motto). If we really care about our
European linguistic diversity, we need a policy that is not only practical and
natural (sorry, esperantists!) but also respectful of diversity, as well as
neutral, obviously.
On
top of that, the language of the USA (great
country!), as helpful as it is in today’s world, may actually be hindering the
development of Europe. Studies
show that modern Europeans link national identity above all to language. Not
customs, not birth, not religion, but language. Now
how can a cold communication tool such as English is for continental Europeans
(isn’t it?) possibly make them feel more European? It can’t even keep the Brits
in the EU! Globish has definitely
little to do with Europe (could we ever call it “European”?). On the contrary, either
Germanic, Romance or Slavic are, for the vast majority of Europeans (including
the English!), their own languages too. Moreover, they share a common moder/matre/mati. A huge family! That
could strengthen the European supranational identity!
Indo-European in Europe. Image: Adapted from Wikimedia
So
what is the idea? Multilingual conversations. In international communication,
Europeans would use the second level standard of their language (Neolatin,
Interslavic, etc.) and others would be able to understand, as they would also have
studied the basics of other language families at school (a passive competence
should do). Learning the international standard of your own language is not the
same as learning a completely new language, and learning to understand another
language is much easier than learning to speak it. So with this coordinated
linguistic policy (and watching more European films!), we, the Europeans, could
be able to intercommunicate while preserving (and developing!) our cherished
linguistic heritage.
Switzerland
offers examples of multilingual communication with languages from different
families. The Swiss, who live quite happily together and enjoy their traditions
(beautiful Alpine horns, don’t you agree?), speak 4 national languages and
survive without resorting to a foreign lingua
franca. One of the two chambers of their parliament (Council of States)
doesn’t even have any translators,
imagine that! If we now apply multilingual communication to international
standard languages, Michelle from
Paris can speak Neolatin to Boris from Zagreb and Karina from Copenhagen and then
these two can reply in Interslavic and Germanic respectively. Each one of them using
his/her own language and all three mutually understanding. If Europeans only get
to know each other better, linguistically, it will be possible. Imagine us
really knowing and understanding each other! English blocks that mutual
discovery.
The
language of Shakespeare is amazing and wonderful, so true –it happens to be my native tongue from mother’s side.
Still, it’s as amazing and wonderful as the many other languages that have already
been or are currently being replaced by it. In Europe, Scots and Welsh are
vulnerable, Irish and Scottish Gaelic are in danger, Cornish and Manx are in a
critical situation (they already died once). And now, outside the British
Isles, Dutch and
other small or medium size languages are increasingly losing contexts of use.
Iceland has already began ringing alarms to save its language. Are only big
languages safe? Let’s take this seriously.
2019
has been declared by the UNESCO (UN) the International Year of Indigenous Languages
in order to spread awareness of the fact that linguistic diversity (like
cultural and ecological diversity) is a decisive part of the world’s heritage
and future. Every single language is a strategic resource that could be crucial
some day to answer to important challenges for us all. In other words, the loss
of any language in the planet is a loss for all humankind.
It’s
our shared responsibility to take care of linguistic diversity. And now, with
Brexit (please remain!), we have the chance to reconsider the role of English
in Europe. An alternative strategy that could help us is organizing our
language families by means of international standards. Let’s consider it! Slavic,
Germanic, Romance: three languages to better love and unite Europe. “In varietate concordia” (that’s our
motto).
