A badge of Europeanness if you like: Shaping European Identity through the Institutional Discourse on Multilingualism

Franco Zappettini Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication Birkbeck, University of London fzappe01@mail.bbk.ac.uk The Discourse of Identity University of Santiago de Compostela June 13th-15th, 2012

THE RELATION BETEWEEN LANGUAGE AND IDENTITIES Language a natural element in defining (ethnic) groups vis--vis others and providing group members with a sense of groupness (Edwards, 2009) but also a naturalised way of constructing in and out groups which has often been appropriated by political discourses. Monolingual ideologies at the heart of nation-state construction and national identities (Anderson 1991; Wright 1996)

LANGUAGE IN THE NATIONAL IDENTITY MODEL Ethnic nations (Kulturnation) : a common language the basis for claiming legitimacy as a nation e.g. German volksgeist (the national spirit) (Smith, 1991) Civic nations (Staatnation): a common language imposed by the central administration for functional reasons and civic participation e.g. French under Richelieu (Spolsky, 2004) These are not necessarily linear/distinct processes and indeed one ideology may reinforce the other

EUS MULTILINGUALISM Since the beginning the EU adopted the official languages of individual Member States as its own on the basis that All languages are equal Ad hoc policies introduced and developed since late 90s From 2007 to 2010 a stand-alone Commission portfolio under L. Orban Policies aimed at preserving and cherishing Europes existing linguistic diversity whilst encouraging European citizens to learn more languages. Critical approaches: hegemonic multilingualism mismatch between outside (EU member states) and inside (EU institutions) visions ( Krzyanowski and Wodak, 2010)

Semantic shift to fit Eus economic agenda: from protection and promotion of linguistic diversity to a skill necessary for competitiveness (Wodak and Krzyzanowski, 2010)
ML as gate-keeper of Fortress Europe (Wodak, 2010)

Objectives:

investigate discursive processes of European identity(ies) construction

at institutional level in relation to multilingual ideologies/practices Research questions: How have European identity and language played out in the discourses of the EU? How has the EUs discourse on multilingualism contributed to the

construction of Europeanness?
What are the linguistic and discursive strategies deployed to construct Europeanness in the EUs discourse on multilingualism?

WHO NEEDS (EUROPEAN) IDENTITY? SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT Europe appropriated in political discourses by national agendas because of the interpretive power contained in the concept (Malmborg and Strth, 2002) Historically moving from a cultural definition to a sociological and political construction of a European identity (Ifversen 2002) LEGITIMISATION: the EU needs to be more than a trading association and address the democratic deficit (Majone, 1998) DEMOCRATISATION PROCESSES: The EU needs to communicate Europe to its citizens after Constitutional failure

ENLARGEMENT: More diversified Europeans and renegotiation of identities since 2004

UNITY IN DIVERSITY: New cultural and post-national narratives of Europeanness (Kraus, 2010, Eder, 2009)

HOW DO WE CONCEPTUALISE IDENTITY? Focus on the (discursive) process rather than the reified product Avoid social/individual dichotomy Emergence of hybrid, fragmented, liquid identities

EUROPEAN IDENTITY Increasing Discursive convergence EU-rope (Krzyanowski, 2010) EU as an active identity builder defining who belongs to Europe (Laffan, 2004)

EU discourses on European Identity have accommodated and have been accommodated by discourses on national identity in a Russian doll model (Herman et al, 2004) or the marble cake model (Risse, 2010)

DATA 21 official speeches given by the EU Commissioner for Multilingualism (20072010) available at the Commission website. The Commission as the supranational organ. Internal (e.g. the European Parliament) and external (academic and business) audiences Core (Brussels) and periphery locations (Semi) institutional events (meetings, conferences and public lectures) some highly formal (50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the European Day of Languages) Available in few selected languages!

THEORETICAL APPROACH Identities are socially constructed (reproduced, negotiated/contested) through and in discourse (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005) CDA - Discourse is a form of social practice (Fairclough, 2003). It assumes a dialectical relationship between discursive acts and situations, institutional frames and social structures (Wodak and Meyer, 2001) DHA Text in context - Every text is embedded in a specific social-historical and political contexts (Wodak, 2001) Official speeches : A subgenre of political speech which pertains to the field of action concerned with forming public attitudes, opinions and will (Reisigl, 2008) and which addresses identified audiences for persuasive, rhetorical and legitimation purposes (Chilton, 2004)

DATA ANALYSIS : Analytical framework LINKING MACRO AND MICRO

FINDINGS Macro Discursive Representations of Europeanness

Brought along dimension

I won't surprise you when I insist that [multilingualism] is an essential feature we must hold on to at all costs. (Warsaw, 6/3/2008) Our main strength is our diversity. Crystallised in different forms, from cultural, to linguistic and social diversity, it represents the very core of the European identity, which combines the different pieces of specificity in the well-joined European puzzle (Rome, 24/3/2007) Brought along dimension I am convinced linguistic diversity will help us developing [sic] a European identity (Brussels, 3/10/2007). I strongly believe that multilingualism will be instrumental in supporting the shaping of the EU citizenship, the building of a truly European political space and help fill in the alleged gap between citizens and the EU (07/173) Shifting causality: linguistic diversity is the very core of European identity (its natural expression) in brought along representations to become a tool to develop a European identity in brought about representations

MAIN STRATEGIES ASSIMILATION EMPHASIZING INTERNAL SAMENESS

TOPOI Diversity as heritage/kinship History Asset/Wealth (EU-rope) Political continuity Lessons from history Normative Uniqueness of EU Melting pot vs. Mosaic Non-zero sum

CONVERGING EU-ROPE DISSIMILATION EMPHASIZING EXTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION MAKING EUROPEANNESS COMPATIBLE WITH OTHER IDENTITIES

ACCOMMODATION

LEGITIMATION TRANSFORMATION

Democracy/Equality EU as civic nation Unity in Diversity

ASSIMILATION STRATEGIES

Strategy of emphasizing the in-group sameness

- topoi of heritage, kinship

[Days of Language] celebrate our linguistic diversity, one of the greatest assets of the European heritage.(Brussels, 26/9/2007) - Topos of asset/wealth I am convinced that Europe's abundance of mother tongues is a source of wealth (Brussels, 10/9/2008) - Topos of history (emphasis on the temporal dimension) The existence side by side of many different languages has been a constant feature of our European continent (Brussels, 23/10/2009)

ASSIMILATION STRATEGIES

Strategy of cultural/political continuity

Today I would like to talk to you about multilingualism in this new Europe of ours. As Commissioner with responsibility for this portfolio, I won't surprise you when I insist that this is an essential feature we must hold on to at all costs. We may sometimes have the impression that one common language would help us understand each other better. But the very notion of a common language is contradicted by our history. Europe has always been multilingual (Brussels, 23/10/2009)
Convergence EU=Europe and Ambivalent inclusiveness/exclusiviness of we Is the Commissioner claiming the historical dimension of multilingual practises in the EU or in the European society at large?

DISSIMILATION STRATEGIES Strategy of spatial and temporal differentiation from monolingual ideologies - topos of lessons from history In Europe we have learnt that the complexity of differences can lead to misunderstanding and even conflict (Brussels, 6/11/2008)

- Topos of Mosaic vs. Melting pot metaphors (US vs. Europe)

Our deepest aspirations [are] not to make a monolith or a melting pot, where our differences our rendered down but rather, to create a mosaic of difference, where difference is celebrated (ibid)

DISSIMILATION STRATEGIES Strategy of singularisation - topos of uniqueness of EU-rope We were able to more than double the language coverage over the past three years from 11 to the present 23. We are probably the only part of the world that ensures such diversity in unity (Brussels, 27/2/2007)

I am well aware, of course, that linguistic diversity is not unique to Europe []what makes the European Union special is its explicit decision to recognise that all the languages of its Member States have equal dignity in communication between the European institutions and citizens. (Rome, 16/3/2007) De facto /de jure dimensions

Accommodation Strategies Accommodating Europeanness vis--vis national and other identities

-topos of non zero-sum (one does not take away from the other)
Russian doll model recontextualizes Art. 8 Lisbon Treaty The role of European languages in shaping the identity of our nations is commonly discussed. What could be their role in shaping the European identity an identity that should not replace, but rather complement our pre-existing national ones? (Brussels, 26/9/2007). [learning languages helps] consolidate a sense of European identity, a European citizenship, alongside our other identities self, regional, national (Brussels, 29/6/2007)

Marble cake model?

STRATEGIES OF TRANSFORMATION: - Topos of Unity in Diversity I want to turn this linguistic diversity, this richness, into something that unites us in Europe as members of a large community, a badge of Europeanness, if you like (Brussels, 29/6/2007)

- Constructing an identity marker for the new in-group (the badge) - Constructing cohesion (unite, members of a large community) - Agentiveness (I want)

- Inclusiveness of we dependent on conceptualisations of Europe in the integration project

LEGITIMATION STRATEGIES
- Topoi of democracy and communication multilingualism strengthens the democracy, transparency legitimacy of the EU institutions (Warsaw, 6/3/2008) and

Languages are also crucial in how the European Union relates to its citizens. The European Union was not created as a superpower, but as an additional layer of governance whose legitimacy, democracy and efficiency depends on its ability to communicate with European citizens in their own languages [] (Gorizia, 14/9/2007)

The fact that it was felt necessary to create a separate portfolio dedicated to multilingualism shows that multilingualism, part of the European Union's DNA, has not only reached maturity but has also acquired a political weight hitherto undreamed of. (Sibiu, 1/6/2007)
EU as a living body metaphor coming of age gives it legitimacy

LEGITIMATION STRATEGIES - Topoi of democracy and equality The principle of linguistic equality is a principle of democracy the costs of internal multilingualism are the price of democracy (Rennes, 7/12/2009) Languages are a fundamental part of our identity. By communicating in the languages of their choice, the Union proves that all citizens are equal in dignity, independently of the number of speakers or of the status of that language. (07/173) The founders of our Union knew the value of linguistic diversity. They demonstrated this by putting the official languages of the six founding members on an equal footing. (08/414)

Factual statements/verbs

Conclusions

Discourses on multilingualism have been instrumental in constructing

Europeanness along brought along and brought about dimensions

Some antinomies in the representations of linguistic diversity

(heritage/tool) contribute to sui generis representations of Europeanness

Constructive strategies have mainly been predicated on emphasizing

(internal) sameness and (external) differences, legitimising processes and accomodating Europeanness within other identities

Evidence of transformation strategies and convergence EU-rope Linguistic realisation has occurred through a variety of elements
including: metaphors, temporal/spatial/personal deixis, and lexical choices

Next : look at contextual variables (audience, purpose, etc.) in more detail

Thank you!

Questions?