September the 26th is the European Day of Languages! The European Day of Languages was established back in 2001 by the Council of Europe and aims to encourage language learning throughout Europe. European Day of Languages 2019. What are the objectives of the European Day of Languages? The general objectives of the European Day of Languages are: Alerting the public to the importance of language learning and diversifying the range of languages learnt in order to increase multilingualism and intercultural understanding; Promoting the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe, which must be preserved and fostered; Encouraging lifelong language learning in and out of school, whether for study purposes, for professional needs, for purposes of mobility or for pleasure and exchanges. The Council of Europe is hoping that this Day will be celebrated both by authorities in its member states and potential partners at the following levels: among policy-makers (specific measures or discussions on language policy issues, for instance) among the general public (awareness-raising on the overall objectives of the Day, including the importance of lifelong language learning, starting at any age, in educational establishments, at work, etc); in the voluntary sector (specific actions by and/or for NGOs, associations, companies, etc). How is Language Insight getting involved? At Language Insight, we’re passionate about languages and language learning. Over the past few weeks, our translators have been teaching each other different jokes in a variety of languages. This gave us an idea, we thought we’d take this opportunity to have a little competition over on our LinkedIn page! If you speak a European language, please comment on our LinkedIn post with a joke in that language (and English if you wish). Please keep all jokes PG and non-discriminatory or they will be removed. Our translation team will decide which joke is the best and the winner will receive the Kinder Bouquet that can be seen in the picture with the post. The winning joke will be chosen on the 3rd of October 2019. Good luck and Happy European Day of Languages! P.S Here is a German joke that we found rather amusing! —”Hey Philipp, wie war denn der Urlaub?” —”Gräßlich! Im Hotel hatte ich Zimmernummer hundert. Und vom Türschild ist die Eins abgefallen!” English translation: —“Hey Philipp, how was your vacation?” —“Horrible! In the hotel, I had room number 100. And the 1 fell off the sign on the door!” (Hint: In Germany, public restrooms are marked with 00.)
