Official Languages of the European Union

The European Union (EU) is a multi-national organization in charge of regulating immigration, the economic market, and other political aspects in the European region. To make communication fair and accessible to all members, there are 24 official languages that enable communication. In this article, we’ll go over the 24 official languages, the 3 working languages, and the role they play in the European Union.

What is the European Union?

The European Union is the economic and political alliance between 27 European countries. It was formed after World War II to ensure peace and prosperity in the European region. Since then, it has developed to fit modern times and match the interests of its members. Now, the European Union regulates trade, currency, migration, environmental issues, health, security, language diversity, and justice across borders.

To make trade easier, the European Union has a single shared market and a currency that most Eu countries have adopted: the Euro. Thanks to this, European citizens can transit and look for opportunities in other European countries without the need for visas.

These are the countries that belong to the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

The 24 Official Languages of the European Union

For a language to become an official EU language, it has to be an official language in one of the countries of the union. To help you familiarize yourself with these languages, we have provided important facts about each of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Note that the languages listed below have been listed in alphabetical order and not by the number of speakers they currently have.

Bulgarian

Bulgarian is the official language of Bulgaria and there are around 5.5 million people that speak it worldwide. This language became part of the official list of languages when Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. Bulgarian is a Slavic language and is related to modern Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, and Macedonian. 

Many people believe that Bulgarian is the most similar to Russian because of the time the country spent under the USSR. However, it’s closest to Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian. But it’s important to note that it was the Bulgarians who developed the Cyrillic alphabet in the 9th century. Today, they still use the Cyrillic alphabet and even celebrate every year on May 24. Learning Bulgarian can help you learn other Slavic languages with ease, like Serbian or Ukrainian.

Croatian

Croatian is the official language of Croatia, which joined the European Union in 2013. Currently, there are around 6 million people in the world who speak Croatian. This language is part of the Slavic branch of Indo-European languages, like Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian. While most speakers live in Croatia, you can also find speakers in countries like Austria and Italy.

Croatian is usually thought to be the same language as Serbian because both Serbia and Croatia were part of Yugoslavia. Note that Croatian and Serbian are mutually intelligible, which means that their native speakers can understand each other despite the linguistic differences. However, unlike Serbian, Croatian only uses the Latin script. Because of Croatian’s association with South Slavic languages, knowing how to speak it can serve as a door to languages like Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Slove.

Czech

Czech is the official language of Czechia (formerly known as the Czech Republic). Now, there are approximately 10 million people who speak it in the world. While this language is mostly spoken in its native country, you can also hear it in countries like Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Austria, and Ukraine in communities of Czech immigrants and their descendants. Czech is a West Slavic language and is closely related to Slovak and Polish.

Czech has been in use since the 12th century when it first appeared in Latin and Germanic texts. In the past, Czech used to be called Bohemian and it was spoken in the western regions of Czechia, then called Bohemia and Moravia. The Czech alphabet is written in Latin script but contains diacritical marks (such as á, č, and ů).

Danish

In the European Union, Danish is the official language of Denmark, but it’s also spoken in Danish language communities in Germany. There are around 5.5 million Danish speakers in the world, mostly living in Denmark. Outside of the EU, Danish is also present in schools and communities in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. 

Danish is a North Germanic language, derived from Old Norse and tied to the Indo-European family of languages. While it shares a similar vocabulary and pronunciation with Norwegian, its grammar has been greatly influenced by German. Because of this, you can group different Danish words to create a compound and more specific word.

Dutch

Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands. But, it’s also one of the official languages of Belgium (known as Flemish), more specifically in the region of Flanders. There are around 24 million Dutch native speakers, with around 22 million of them coming from the EU and 6 million speakers who learned it as a second language. Dutch is a West Germanic language, which means that it shares similarities with languages like German and English. 

There’s a large variety of Dutch dialects used in other parts of the world (like Central Dutch and Flemish). Like other Germanic languages, the Dutch alphabet has 26 letters and uses the Latin script. Note that while there are many similarities with the English alphabet, Dutch also has accent marks and diaresis (gein-stalleerd, co-ordinatie, cre-eren) used to stress and change the pronunciation of certain words.

English

There are more than 1.5 billion English speakers in the world, including people who learned it as a second or foreign language. Apart from being one of the most spoken languages in the world, English is also an official working language of the European Union. It became an official when the United Kingdom joined the EU in 1973, and kept its place after Brexit occurred in 2016 due to it also being an official language of Ireland and Malta.

The English language is very influential, but it has also adopted many words from other languages like French, Italian, Spanish, and German. Most people learn English as their second language, which is why it’s considered the lingua franca for communication across borders in Europe. It belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language branch, so it shares characteristics with languages like German and Dutch.

Estonian

Estonian became one of the official languages of the European Union when Estonia joined in 2004. It’s the official language of Estonia, and it’s spoken by approximately 1.1 million Estonian speakers in the world. Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family, along with Finnish. Estonia was part of the USSR until 1991 and, as a result, it acquired many loanwords from other countries that were part of the Soviet Union, like Russia or Finland.  

Like other languages on this list, Estonian uses the Latin script but has diaresis to represent the sound of vowels like æ, ø, and y, accent marks, and other diacritics. The Estonian alphabet originally had 23 letters. However, due to the influence of German and Swedish, it’s added 9 extra letters that are used for foreign words.

Finnish

Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland. But, it’s also widely spoken in countries of the European Union like Estonia, Sweden, and Norway. In total, more than 6 million people speak Finnish. Many people think that Finnish is a Scandinavian language, but it belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of languages like Hungarian.

This language has complicated grammar where changing one letter in a word can change the whole meaning of your sentence. One fun fact is that Finnish has one of the longest words in the world: Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas (Aeroplane jet turbine motor assistant mechanic, non-commissioned officer, in training). While it might seem intimidating, Finnish shares many similarities with Estonian. It can be relatively easy to learn if you already speak Estonian. 

French

The French language is very popular, so it’s no surprise that it has around 321 million speakers worldwide. French is the official language of France, but it’s also one of the official languages of Belgium and Luxembourg. In the European Union, more than 20% of people speak French. This is another one of the three working languages in the EU.  

French is well-known for being a Romance language, along with Italian and Spanish, and speaking it can help you learn another Romance languages with ease. Due to the French influence in fashion, art, and technology, many companies look to hire employees with a standard level of French. French has borrowed many words from English, which will come in handy when learning to communicate on a basic level.

German

German is the official language of Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, and Belgium. However, it’s also possible to find German-speaking communities in other countries of the European Union, like Italy, Denmark, or Czechia. This is the language with the biggest number of native speakers in the European Union, and there are around 134 million German speakers in the world. Like French and English, German is also a working language of the EU.

Germany has the biggest job market in the European Union, so learning this language can help you look for job opportunities and even scholarships. Along with English and Dutch, German is one of the three West Germanic languages that are on the list of official languages in the European Union. Plus, knowing German can help you move through most of the continent since it’s one of the most spoken languages across Europe. 

Greek

Greek is the official language of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. It was added to the list of European Union languages when Greece joined in 1981. Currently, there are more than 12 million people who speak Greek. Outside of Greece and Cyprus, you can also find Greek speakers in Germany, Hungary, and Italy.

While Greek is not the oldest spoken language in the world, it is the oldest recorded language. There is written evidence of Greek dating back somewhere between 1450 and 1350 BC. From its theater and mythology to its historic sites, the Greek language has a rich history and culture. It has influenced many other languages, and it’s also useful if you want to understand the different parts of a word in English. Now, it’s commonly used in medical and scientific language.

Hungarian

Hungarian is the official language of Hungary and there are around 12 million Hungarian speakers worldwide. Even though most can be found in Hungary, there are also significant numbers of Hungarian speakers in Austria, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Outside of the EU, you can also find Hungarian speakers in Serbia and Ukraine.

Along with Finnish and Estonian, Hungarian is the third language that belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group that has made the list of the EU official languages. Its alphabet uses the Latin script but has added diacritical marks so it has 44 letters instead of 26. Hungarian grammar can seem more complex due to its many differences from English. For example, Hungarian has no grammatical gender and uses suffixes instead of prepositions.

Irish

Irish was added to the list of official languages when Ireland joined the European Union in 1973. It’s one of the official languages of Ireland and there are approximately 1.8 million native Irish speakers in the world. Irish is a Celtic language that has been around since the 6th century when its initial form was first developed.

The Irish language is closely tied to the folklore, culture, and history of the Old World, and learning it can help you discover the way of living of early European communities. The Irish government is currently working to preserve the language. To do this, they are currently looking to hire employees who speak the language fluently, which means that knowing Irish could open many job opportunities for you.

Italian

There are 67 million native Italian speakers in the European Union and approximately 13.4 million EU citizens who speak it as a second language. Like Spanish and French, Italian is a Romance language that uses the Latin script. It’s fairly easy to learn Italian if you already know Spanish because the sounds and grammar of the two languages are similar. 

Italy is the country with the most UNESCO heritage sites in the world, and knowing its language can help you immerse yourself in its rich culture and history. Knowing Italian can also be useful if you plan to visit other parts of Europe, too