April 2001 - Nr. 4
New Language Alliance Seeks to Keep English at Bay
TWIG - In a new campaign to keep English words from creeping into everyday speech, the German Language Association (VDS: Verein Deutsche Sprache) has introduced the Federal Republic’s first alliance "for the future of the German language." "We want to show that the endangerment of the German language is a public problem," said VDS spokesman Kurt Gavlitta. The association presented its seven-point paper on the issue as Germany’s first conference for the European Year of Language opened in Berlin.
The declaration, whose signatories include former Berlin health commissioner Beate Huebner (CDU), radio moderator Raiko Thal and singer-songwriter Reinhard Mey, demands an amendment to the constitution declaring German the Federal Republic’s national language. It also calls on Europe to develop a policy to keep English from dominating languages across the continent.
The European Year of Language is sponsored by the European Union and the European Council to promote the study of foreign languages for better understanding between cultures. Some 400 participants, including young people from throughout the EU, took part in Tuesday’s conference, held in the House of World Cultures in Berlin. ( Heritage / Cultur )
