Universal language or polyglot discourse

Date: August 26, 2004
Time: 14:30-15:30
Room: Folkets Hus, room number 307

Has the established role of English as the undisputed lingua franca solved all problems of scientific communication – amongst scientists and between scientists and the general public? There is an increasing need for the communication of science to a broader public. Scientific terminology tends to evolve into an ‘in group’ jargon and into specific, sometimes highly metaphorical, vocabularies. This session will discuss the utility of a universal scientific language, the problems of establishing terminological norms and the influence of scientific language on public opinion.

Marion Steinicke, Interdisciplinary Graduate Centre of the University of Heidelberg (IDK), Germany

Birger Bergh, Lund, Sweden
"Latin - the future language of Europe"
The main idea behind this provocative title is to demonstrate the potential of the Latin language as a vehicle for international (and supranational) communication, as demonstrated e.g. by the Finnish "Nuntii Latini", but also to underline the advantage of reducing the number of languages used in international affairs, the EU in particular. Thus, in this view, the language could recapture the role it played during c. one thousand years in European cultural and political life.

Pit Kapetanovic, Heidelberg, Germany
"The paradox of artificial languages"
Pit Kapetanovic, M. A. in Philosophy, Modern History and German Philology, graduate student and member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Centre of the University of Heidelberg, reflects in his paper the utopia of universal world languages. Positivism’s old idea of a logical language of science, which avoids the ambiguities of tradition and every-day-use, might still seem attractive. However all attempts to gain “exactness” in this way seem to be doomed to failure due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the functions of language and communication.

Roland Pochet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
"The difficult pathway between demagogic speeches and honest, doubtful and careful scientific jargon"
The difficulty of communication between politicians and researchers is not new. Basement of this gap is spontaneously created by profound differences in intrinsic qualities/behaviour needed for the success of each profession. Research is highly intellectually demanding and needs loneliness and introspection. Doubt, with a touch of paranoïa, is a definite quality to successfully achieve research tasks. Therefore a kind of schizophrenic behaviour naturally emerge from the researcher who does not feel the need to communicate with lay people unable to help him in his compulsive tasks. So there are definite needs for true researchers to constantly reestablished connections with lay people and politicians who are responsible for the distribution of public money in research. If no care are taken by recognized researchers, «wind makers» may/will fill that gap and interfere (corrupt) with the reliable diffusion of progress in knowledge and contribute to the researcher discredit.

The plenary session is held on 26 August at 16:15-17:45, Venue: Norra Latin, rom 353.