The
need to preserve the linguistic human heritage and
counter the processes of language shift that are taking
place worldwide has become a major concern shared
by researchers, scholars and leaders of many language
communities.
This
Dialogue wanted to bring together all persons interested
in the maintenance of linguistic diversity in order
to generate fruitful discussions that may be used
to hold back the current processes of cultural homogenization
of the world.
The
congress was held in Barcelona between May
20 and 23 in the framework of the Universal
Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004. Working sessions
were of two types. On the one hand, the keynote communications,
that gave a general overview on the three main axes
of the congress (language diversity, sustainability
and peace) and the possible interrelations among them,
taking into account the new cultural, social, political
and economic factors stemming from an increasing globalization
process. On the other hand, the five parallel workshops
that were held in the afternoon sessions had a more
specific approach to linguistic diversity and its
relation to language policy and planning.
Linguapax
was born as a UNESCO initiative to bring a linguistic
solution to specific issues in the area of peace research,
defence of human rights and promotion of education
for democracy by using innovative methods for language
teaching. This philosophy is now embodied in the Linguapax
Institute, an international NGO based in Barcelona,
aimed at promoting peace through the respect of linguistic
diversity and the promotion of plurilingual education.
The Universal Forum of Cultures – Barcelona
2004 that took place from May 9 to September 26 2004
was an international event intended to offer a new
and creative space for reflection and ex-perimentation
in relation to the main social and cultural conflicts
that humanity is faced with at the outset of the twenty-first
century. The convergence of proposals and objectives
of these two initiatives motivated the joint organization
of this international congress.
Pasqual
Maragall.
President of the Generalitat of Catalonia (Autonomous
Goverment) .pdf
Plenary
sessions
INTRODUCTORY
SPEECH
David
Crystal
'Creating a world of languages' .pdf
1.
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
The
present situation: the number of languages and
the fight against homogenising tendencies and
language shift processes. The loss of cultural
diversity in general and linguistic diversity
in particular as a common phenomenon spread worldwide.
The magnitude of the threat and reactions against
hegemonic languages. Forecasts over the maintenance
of linguistic diversity.
Speakers:
Bernard Comrie
'Language diversity: A key to understanding
human diversity' .pdf
Nancy Hornberger
'Indigenous language revitalization,
biliteracy and student voice: Instances from Quechua,
Guaraní and Maori bilingual education' .pdf
2.
SUSTAINABILITY
The
links between language, culture and the environment.
Language ecology as an interdisciplinary research
area focusing on the relationships between linguistic
diversity and biological diversity. The need
to preserve a linguistic balance at a global
scale. The promotion of multilingual practices
in order to reach a more equalitarian coexistence
among the different language communities of the
world.
Speakers:
Suzanne Romaine
'Linguistic diversity, sustainable
development, and the future of the past' .ppt
Albert Bastardas
'Towards a "linguistic
sustainability": Concepts, principles, and problems
of human communicative organisation in the 21st century'
.pdf
3.
PEACE
The
respect for linguistic diversity based upon harmonious
coexistence of all language communities. Linguistic
rights, both individual and collective, as fundamental
human rights. Linguistic and cultural diversity
as a key factor to improve intercultural communication,
conflict resolution and the promotion of peace
among peoples.
Speakers:
Fernand de Varennes
'Pax Linguae, Pax
Humanus: Linguistics rights as a foundation for
peace' .pdf
SYNTHESIS
TEXT ON THE PLENARY SESSIONS .pdf
Isidor
Marí
Workshops
1.
Positive models of language policy and planning
Case
studies of different linguistic communities and
their models of language policy and planning.
Workshop coordinator: Jean-Jacques
Van Vlasselaer.
Workshop conclusions .pdf
Panelists:
Anne Marie Beukes
'The first ten years of democracy: Language policy
in South Africa' .pdf
Nadine Dutcher
'Language policy and education in multilingual societies:
Lessons from three positive models (Guatemala, Eritrea
and Papua New Guinea)' .pdf
Félix Etxeberria
'Logros y retos de la educación bilingüe
en el País Vasco' .pdf.ppt
Araceli Díaz de Lezana
'El desarrollo tecnolingüístico del
eukera' .pdf
Josep Quer
'La planificació lingüística
de la llengua de signes catalana (LSC)' .pdf
David A. Klaus
'The
use of indigenous languages in early basic education
in Papua New Guinea: a model for elsewhere?' .pdf
Joe
MacDonnacha
'The
role of the university in meeting the needs of
linguistic
communities: an Irish case study' .pdf .ppt
Abdou
Elimam
'Revaloriser
les langues afin de les promouvoir?' .pdf
Adil
Moustaoui
'Conflicto
lingüístico y política lingüística
en Marruecos: una propuesta de análisis'
.pdf
Uuc-kib Espadas
'La
dimensión global del debate por los derechos
lingüísticos en México'
.pdf
2. Case
studies of language revitalization and standardisation
Examples
of programmes that aim to revitalize threatened
languages. The new information technologies and
their use in revitalization strategies. Language
description and the importance of both corpus and
status planning as key elements in the protection
and promotion of languages.
Workshop coordinator: Joan
Argenter. Workshop
conclusions .pdf
Panelists:
Anvita Abbi
'Vanishing diversities and submerging identities' .pdf
José Antonio Flores
Farfán
'Empoderamiento de las lenguas y culturas locales:
ejemplos de México' .pdf
Martha Muntzel
'The role of literacy in language revitalization' .pdf
G. Ambrosch, D. Halwachs,
Y. Mantra, B. Schrammel
'Romani as a case study of language codification
and revitalization' .pdf
Mohand Tilmatine
Standardisation linguistique: le cas de l'amazighe
(berbère) en Afrique du Nord' .pdf
Esteban Emilio Mosonyi / Jorge
Pocaterra
'Experiencias recientes en los pueblos indígenas
de Venezuela' .pdf
F. Xavier Fargas
'Estandardització i manlleus: la diversitat
entra dins del corpus' .pdf
Michael Prosser
'The prospects for the long-term survival of non-Han
minority languages in the South of China' .pdf
Peter Wittenburg
'The DOBES Program and its contribution to standardization
and revitalization' .pdf
Eda Derhemi
'Dysfunctional attrition and language maintenance
in the Arbresh of Piana degli Albanesi' .pdf
3.
Evaluation on the current sociolinguistic research.
New trends and paradigms
The
new paradigm of sociolinguistic research: ecolinguistic,
complex and holistic theories. Planning multilingualism
and cost-effectiveness analysis in language policies.
Contrast between official language policies and
the newest theoretical approaches.
Elana Shohamy
'The hidden agendas of language
policy; effects on language rights' .pdf
T. Turell, R. Casesnoves, D. Sankoff
'La base démolinguistique
pour évaluer l'aménagement linguistique
dans un contexte bilingue' .pdf
S. Ehrhart, C. Hélot
'Building bridges or taking
the ferry: pidgins, creoles and language acquisition
in a multilingual setting' .pdf
Nadège Lechevrel
'Ecologie des langues: le fait scientifique et
l'idéologie' .pdf
Emili Boix
'Les representacions: un camp d'investigació
des de l'antropologia lingüística per
a mantenir la diversitat' .pdf
François Grin
'Do the concepts of resource allocation and resource
distribution constitute useful paradigms for language
policy?' .pdf
Pádraig Ó Riagáin
'Does achieving the status of an official language
make a difference in the long-term viability of
a previously dominated minority language?' .pdf
Aija Priedite
'What do qualitative and quantitative surveys tell
us about language policy?' .pdf
Giovanna Campani
'The role of language in the mobilization of ethnic
and immigrant minorities' .pdf
Abel Montagut
'La contribució de la llengua internacional
esperanto a la supervivència de la diversitat
lingüística' .pdf
4.
Language law and language rights
Overview
of the development of language legislation in different
parts of the world and its repercussions on emerging
regional blocs such as the European Union, NAFTA,
Mercosur and others. Analysis of significant documents:
European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages,
the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights,
etc.
Panelists:
Susana Cuevas
'La Ley de derechos lingüísticos en
México' .pdf
Christine Anthonissen
'Walking the tightrope between policy and practice:
testing a national policy of language diversity
in higher education language practices' .pdf
Dónall Ó Riagáin
'Respect, understanding and tolerance: Language
policy and the peace process in Northern Ireland' .pdf
Rosa Júlia Plá
Coelho
'A juridical approach to linguistic
diversity in Europe: considerations regarding adopting
a catalog of basic language rights for national,
international and European Union laws'
.pdf
Christopher Stroud
'Language rights and linguistic citizenship' .pdf
Niamh Nic Shuibhne
'The EU and its language scheme:
before and after the enlargement'
.pdf
Paolo Coluzzi
'Problems and difficulties of minority languages
in Italy' .pdf
Mònica
Sabata
'La Declaració Universal
de Drets Lingüístics' .pdf
Santiago Frigola
'Legislació i drets
lingüístics de la comunitat sorda' .pdf
Michelle Daveluy
'Self-governance vs. lingusitic
peace among the Canadian Inuit' .pdf
.pps
5. Agents
in favour of language diversity (NGO, IGO,
civil society organizations)
Non Governmental Organizations and the struggle
to conserve and promote language diversity. The
effective participation of institutions from different
parts of the world in the design, implementation
and follow-up of programmes in the defence of endangered
languages.
Panelists:
E. Annamalai
'The public perception of
language diversity' .pdf
Barbara Trudell
'The role of local agency in the defense of minority
languages: Indigenous language committees in Northwest
Cameroon' .pdf
Alan Hedley
'Sustainable development through biocultural diversity:
The role of international nongovermental organizations' .pdf
K. Lindh, L. M. Gashi
'Multilingual online training for cultural understanding:
Starting points and challenges' .pdf
Albert Raasch
'Cohésion sociale, politique linguistique
et Linguapax' .pdf
Nicholas Ostler
'The defence of language diversity'
.pdf
D. Solà, J. Vinyet
'Voluntaris per la llengua' .pdf
Anikó Hatoss
'Language maintenance and acculturation in the
Hungarian diaspora of Queensland: a microcosm from
which to
learn' .pdf
A. Noguerol, R. Ramírez,
D. Masats
'L'enfocament plural de l'ensenyament
de llengua (ües) a l'escola: el projecte
Jaling: materials i propostes' .pdf
Radojica Petrovic
'A system of web-based projects
sustaining language diversity'.pdf
Linguapax Awards
The
jury of the Linguapax prizes, formed by the members
of the Advisory Committee of the Linguapax Institute
have decided to award this year
Joshua Fishman and Fernand
de Varennes .pdf.
The ceremony took place on May 23rd during the closing
session of the congress.
.pdf