Among many problems compounding the migrant crisis in Europe are language barriers and a shortage of interpreters. This inhibits communication and complicates an already overwhelming situation.
Migrant Crisis | Crisis in Europe
This year it is estimated that more than half a million migrants, including refugees, have arrived in Europe. This has caused a crisis as the European Union tries to manage and accommodate so many people. Many are fleeing conflict in the Middle East and arrive in Europe after long, difficult journeys by land and sea.
Migrants, half of them children, arrive in these new lands after dangerous and uncertain journeys, in desperate need of supplies and shelter, and seeking asylum. At the same time, local officials are overwhelmed as they try to support and oversee such large numbers of newcomers. For example, for every 100,000 citizens In Hungary, there were almost 665 refugees seeking asylum.
Migrant Crisis | Do You Speak Arabic?
There is no clear record of who these people are and where they are coming from since they are for the most part crossing borders illegally. However, refugees applying for asylum in the EU are mostly from Syria, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
The majority of the migrants speak Arabic and Pashto, neither of which are official languages in Europe. Without a common language, police, volunteers, and locals are unable to communicate effectively with new arrivals, preventing them from receiving important information such as the location of a relief camp or how to travel to another country.
There are interpreters working in some areas but not nearly enough given the large numbers of refugees. Without interpreting services providers, communication is limited to hand gestures and perhaps a couple of words. This leaves many opportunities for misunderstandings which can exacerbate an already difficult situation.
Separate Languages
The 24 languages of the EU are all Indo-European Languages and all but Bulgarian and Greek use the Latin alphabet. Arabic and Pashto are quite different from any of these languages. Firstly, both use the Arabic alphabet. In addition, the structure of both of these languages is different from any of the languages of the EU. Arabic is a Semitic language and belongs to the same family as Aramaic and Hebrew. Pashto is an Indo-European language but comes from the group of Indo-Iranian languages, to which none of the EU languages belong.
Though they may be dissimilar to any of the EU languages, Arabic and Pashto are both widely spoken. Arabic, in particular, has 200 million speakers all over the world. It is the official language of 22 countries, including Syria, the home country of many of the migrants in Europe. Modern Standard Arabic is a written and spoken language used throughout the Arabic-speaking world. However, there are also a number of spoken Arabic dialects. These are quite different from one another and in many cases speakers of two different Arabic dialects would not be able to understand one another.
Pashto, with an estimated 45 to 55 million speakers, is not nearly as common as Arabic but is still among the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is one of two official languages of Afghanistan, the other being Dari. It is also spoken in Pakistan and to a lesser extent in Iran, Tajikistan, India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and a few other countries in the region.
What Next?
Refugees who have arrived in Europe are seeking asylum in a number of European countries including Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, France, and Italy. With many refugees arriving in Germany, the German government has developed a plan to redistribute these people throughout the country based upon which areas are best equipped to handle the newcomers. The European Union is also working on a plan to relocate refugees between countries as there have been a very high number of arrivals in Italy, Greece, and Hungary.
For both migrants and refugees, arriving in Europe is just the beginning of a long process of resettlement in which they need to find more permanent solutions for housing, employment and education. During this period it will be especially important to overcome language barriers through the interpretation and translation services, so that migrants can be adequately informed as they make these major life changes.
Language will likely continue to be a challenge as migrants integrate themselves into their new home. Though children will be able to acquire necessary language skills in school, it will be more difficult for their parents who will not have access to this kind of daily instruction.
Author Bio: Therese Gordon is a marketing intern at Language Connections. She is studying comparative literature in French, Italian, and English at Brown University. Following her internship, she plans to spend her spring semester in Italy.
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