Empire of Languages: Eu's Multilingualism Policy and the Turkish Language

Abstract

Despite its crucial role in sustaining better integration, multilingualism is not discussed as widely as the other topics of multiculturalism within the context of the European Union (EU) enlargement. The accession process requires Turkey to take notice of the opportunities and shortcomings as well as the challenges of European multilingualism and to communicate the relevance of the Turkish language to the completeness of European multiculturalism. The present article aims to assess the EU language policy in light of the future imperative of incorporating Turkish into Europe's linguistic family by referring to the EU's laws, norms, and values as well as NGOs' reports and opinion papers.