(9 February 2016) Barbara Cassin, Tullio De Mauro, and Jürgen Trabant are three of the greatest scholars of the philosophical-linguistic disciplines. They are also the stars of a conference scheduled for February 23 (at 7pm) at the Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry (Christinenstraße 18/19 · 8 · Haus Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg). Organized by the Institute for Cultural Inquiry and the Italian Cultural Institute in Berlin, the conference will revolve around the theme “Multilingual Europe”. And so, the meeting will be held in Italian, German and French, moderated by Sara Fortuna and Rossella Saetta-Cottone. Europe is constantly changing but it still isn’t clear in which direction it is moving, including from a linguistic point of view. In 500 years, will we speak only in English? Or is a multilingual world conceivable, one where people who live in Europe can move at ease? Will we create a solid community of citizens in which multiplicity will not be an obstacle to our ability to talk and understand each other in a non-shallow way, finding new ways of common experience? Or are we inexorably headed towards the global dominance of English that will force us to build weaker and less meaningful relationship with our mother tongues? These and other questions will maybe find an answer in Cassin, De Mauro and Trabant. The three intellectuals have often grappled with the ambitious enterprise of imagining the future of Europe, warning about the risks of a political, economic and cultural-related linguistic homogenization. (Red)
In 500 years, will we speak only in English? A linguistic debate with De Mauro
