"If you imagine culture being a house, he explained, then the language is the key to the door and to all rooms. Without language, he says, you are lost and have neither a real home nor a real identity."("And the Mountains Echoed", Khaled Hosseini)

What does European cultural heritage mean to me?

Maria Fellner - 03.01.2020 @ 20:50

 What does the European cultural heritage mean to me?

by Katharina Strunz, VKS Växjö/Sweden

Language is important in all of the European countries. Many languages are very similar. Especially the ones within the Indo-Germanic language tree. Swedish and German for example have various similar phrases. One example of this is the word “glass”, which is spelled the same way in both languages although it is pronounced differently. The word “language” has a different pronunciation in both languages. In Swedish and Norwegian you say “Språk”, and in Danish it is “Sprog”. In Dutch it is “Taal” and in German it is “Sprache”.  Language is an extremely important skill to possess, since without it we would not be able to communicate in a proficient way. Most languages are also influenced by both Latin and Greek, a European cultural heritage.

Foto: Mirela Bilali

The EU have 24 different official languages, none of which can be put to neither advantage nor disadvantage. There is even a “European Day of Languages”. The EU wants the students of Europe to know at least two foreign languages. In my opinion, it is of great importance that the European languages are preserved, since they play such a crucial role in the European cultural and historical heritage.

Another aspect of the European heritage is the historic buildings and monuments. Europe is the home of many important historic buildings such as the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin and Drottningholm Palace Theater in Stockholm. It is, in my opinion, crucial to preserve these honourable buildings and landmarks, for the coming generations to learn the history of the European countries. For this exact reason, things like the European Heritage Label, for example, exist. The European Heritage Label recognizes cultural monuments, landscapes and memorials that mean a lot to Europeans in general and the cultural heritage.

Foto: Katharina Strunz

translated by Sofia Olsson

Katharina Strunz - 17.03.2020 @ 11:44

Hi, I really enjoyed reading the article. It had some very great ideas about how our languages connect us all in a sort of culture. I do think that it is really great if all European students get to learn two foreign languages in school. But it would also help some minor languages which are spoken in Europe if we learn those as well, for example Sami or Meänkieli. I also agree that historical buildings are important for a nation’s cultural heritage. They often show a part of the culture that is important to the people that live there. It was indeed a great article, thanks for writing and/or translating it.

Evelina Swensson - 15.05.2020 @ 12:53