Agenda

10 Apr 2020 08:00

Lettere dal DSAAM - Patrick Heinrich

DSAAM online

In questi giorni marcati dall'isolamento, pubblichiamo in agenda con cadenza regolare delle lettere da parte dei membri del Dipartimento. L'idea è di raccontare l' esperienza di quarantena, principalmente attraverso suggerimenti di letture, attività didattiche, ma anche ricette, musica, programmi radiofonici e film.
È un modo per condividere spunti culturali in queste giornate lunghe e per comunicare a studenti e colleghi la nostra presenza e il nostro impegno.

Oggi la lettera è da parte di Patrick Heinrich.

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Dear students, dear colleagues,

I am glad to reach out to you in this way.  I would like to share a video on “Linguistic Diversity, Cities and Globalization” with you. The video is part of my work on why linguistic diversity matters. You can watch it at this link: https://youtu.be/C2TQLTJDZ3M

My research is focused on two seemingly different fields of research. One is “language and communication in the city”, and the second is “endangered language documentation and revitalization”. However, both fields are closely interrelated. We find a loss of linguistic diversity both in the city and among ethnolinguistic minorities. As a sociologist of language, I am interested in the mechanisms that trigger the loss of language diversity. I consider this an important field of study because “loss” indeed means loss. Nothing is gained in losing something. 

In my opinion, there are three larger insights to be gained from the study of linguistic diversity loss
Firstly, it is always dominated communities or speakers who lose their language. The topic is not so much about language but about inequality. Language diversity is a barometer of social (in)equality.
Secondly, languages do not “totally vanish”. They leave traces, just like a dead tree becomes the home for fungi or insects, an extinct language “survives” as an accent or may be transferred as knowledge and pragmatic uses in the replacing language.
Thirdly, maintaining linguistic diversity requires undoing inequality. It means moving forward and building the foundations of a society that offers real equality.

In this video I talk about how to study linguistic diversity in the city. If you want to read more about linguistic diversity, check out Daniel Nettle’s excellent Linguistic Diversity, and if you want to know more about urbanization, start with the classic The Urban Revolution by Henri Lefebvre.    

Best wishes to you all. Stay safe, seek beauty and talk to each other.
Patrick 

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Silvia Rivadossi - link alla lettera

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Dipartimento di Studi sull’Asia e sull’Africa Mediterranea

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