Language Policy U-Today
U-Today, the independent news medium of the UT, embraces the international character of the University of Twente. For that reason, we publish a lot of articles in the English language, we have an international editor working on our team and we publish our Science & Technology Magazine completely in English. In our pool of student writers, we also work with several international students. That way, we want to service our audience of international students and employees as best we can.
U-Today uses both the Dutch and English language. Also – when appropriate – we include English summaries in Dutch articles. In practice, this means we offer articles in English, Dutch and both languages. We do that for the following reasons:
- As Dutch journalists, we have the responsibility to protect and carry out the Dutch language.
- Statistics show that of the readers we have, about 70 percent is of Dutch descent and 30 percent is of international descent. Our Dutch-written articles get the most reads.
- U-Today is operating under the heading of ‘extracurricular activities’ within the UT. That’s why we don’t see it as an obligation to carry out the UT language policy completely, but follow current affairs as much as possible. On a yearly basis, the U-Today newsroom will take a look at the balance between English and Dutch articles and if that balance represents the UT community accordingly.
U-Today understands the need for a language policy as the UT applies. However, we do see it as our journalistic obligation to look at this policy critically. After all, the University of Twente is a Dutch university, working in an international environment.
