Copy all of the information that you see on each slide. Languages Entry 6 Copy all of the information that you see on each slide.

Main Categories Europe is home to more than two hundred native languages. Most European languages are in three main categories: Germanic languages, Romance languages, and Slavic languages

Germanic Languages Most people in this group live in the northwest and in central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, U.K., Ireland, etc…).

Germanic Languages Example languages from this group include German and English.

This group has the most native speakers. Germanic Languages This group has the most native speakers.

Romance languages This group includes French, Italian, and Spanish. These languages are found in the south and west of Europe (France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, etc…).

Romance Languages Romance languages come from Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire.

The Roman Alphabet The Roman alphabet is used to write both Romance and Germanic languages, although not every language has the exact same characters and punctuation. These letters are written using the Roman alphabet.

Slavic Languages This group includes the Russian language and is spoken in central and eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, etc…).

Slavic Languages These languages do not always use the Roman alphabet. Instead, they are written with a Cyrillic alphabet that you will see on the next slide.

The Cyrillic Alphabet

Diversity in European Languages Many European countries have more than one official language. This is due, in part, to the ethnic background of the people living there.

Bordering Countries Many countries share borders, and people move back and forth across them easily.

Second Language Choice About 400 million people in the world speak English because it is often the choice for a second language.

The Language of Business English is chosen because it is considered the worldwide language of business. Over half of all Europeans speak some English.

Problems *Problems occur when many languages are spoken in one place. *It can be difficult to live, work, and trade with people who cannot communicate with each other.

Problems of having so many Languages *Official forms and documents are printed in the official language of each country. *Government workers often only speak the official language.

Solutions *There are special laws to protect *The European Union (EU) has 23 “official” languages to make sure that people can understand laws and decisions made by the government. *There are special laws to protect languages, too.

Solutions To help, schoolchildren are required to learn one or two other languages besides their own.