"Lingua Franca: Chimera or Reality" European Commission DG Translation. Studies on translation and multilingualism.

Publisher's press release:

No translation, no Europe

How did English earn the title of 'lingua franca' – the Frankish language – in Europe and what are the pros and cons of this development? What are the EU's obligations regarding translation – and what are the costs of non-translation? What role can interpreting and new language technologies play in helping European businesses to expand their turnover and exports? Translator trainers will join economists, lawyers and philologists (who study linguistics and literature) to discuss these questions and more at a conference on translation and its role in society in Brussels on 17-18 February. The conference at the Charlemagne Building will focus on three studies which have just been published by the European Commission: 'Lingua Franca: Chimera or Reality', 'Lawmaking in the EU multilingual environment' and 'Contribution of Translation to a Multilingual Society in the European Union'. The studies can be consulted at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/publications/studies/index_en.htm The conference can be followed online at http://webcast.ec.europa.eu/eutv/portal

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