Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

Do you speak Europanto? It's not so hard to learn. To speakare Europanto, tu basta mixare alles wat tu know in extranges linguas. We take a look at one of Europe's lesser known languages.

article summary —

One of Brussels' many engaging charms is that it is a linguistically complex city. Cross a street and one shifts from French to Flemish. Dive into the Marolles quarter (see hidden europe 12) and hear the extraordinary Brusselse Sproek. Or head east from the city centre beyond the ‘petit ring' for a dose of Europanto. Or so we are told! Whether anyone really speaks Europanto as a means of communication we are unsure, but the corridors of the Berlaymont and the Justus Lipsius buildings do sometimes echo to peculiarly hybrid sounds - sentences that start in German and end in Spanish, having lurched through French and English on the way.


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About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 13.