Speaking in (23) tongues.

• Position: Standard languages - Brief article

The European Union, established in 1992, is an alliance of 27 democratic countries. As the E.U. has grown, so has its list of official languages. There are now 23: Bulgaria and Romania just entered the union, and Gaelic has been recognized as an official language of Ireland. All official documents must be translated into all 23 languages, at a cost of more than $1 billion a year. But in Paris, the biggest concern is how rapidly...