The identity of language and nation was proclaimed – successfully – in the 19th century and, as a consequence of this ideology, the monolingual individual was declared as (desirable) norm. This notion of multilingualism as deviance shapes language attitudes and language policy (also) in Austria up to present days. This leads, amongst other, to devaluation of first language competence(s) other than the German language. At the same time, there are tendencies of context-dependent monolingualism in trans- and multinational communication practices such as in science due to a dominant position of English as lingua franca. This even further intensifies the devaluation of languages other than the “state language” (Staatssprache) German (B-VG §8) and lingua franca English and, thus, contradicts the language political basic concept of the European Union, propagating that all citizens of the EU should speak at least two further languages.
Against this backdrop, four projects financed by the thematic platform “multilingualism” of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) in 2021–2023 aim at making linguistic diversity in Austria more visible and strengthen its added value with regard to recognizing and preserving the cultural heritage against monolingualism in science and society. Research efforts include the elicitation of data on individual and societal multilingualism in Austria using both qualitative and quantitative methods. For Vienna specifically, a special focus is put on multilingualism in science and the media landscape.
At the 5th ACDH-CH research day “Multilingualism in society and science”, results of these four projects will be presented and discussed in the context of selected further contributions. All talks share their focus on diverse aspects of multilingualism in (especially the Austrian) society and science. Thus, the research day provides ground to connect various institutes, units, projects and people of the OeAW as well as other Viennese research institutions, which deal from linguistic, sociological, media studies, ethnological or historical perspectives with questions such as
09.15-09.30 | Welcome and introduction to the Research Day | |
MEHRSPRACHIGKEIT UND IDENTITÄT IN DER DIASPORA | ||
09.30-10.00 | Verborgene Schätze: Sprachvielfalt in der aramäischen, christlich-orthodoxen und jüdischen Gemeinde Wiens (Juhuri, Makedonisch, Boyash, Turoyo) | |
10.00-10.30 | Multilingualism among Turkish Sephardim: A Pillar of Sephardic Identity? | |
10.30-11.00 | Coffee Break |
|
MEHRSPRACHIGKEIT IN TEXTEN UND (TEXT-)KULTUREN | ||
11.00-11.30 | Similar yet different: Latin-Vernacular Code-Switching in Medieval Church Sermons | |
11.30-12.00 | Medien, sprachliche Vielfalt und Minderheiten in Österreich. Ein Projektbericht | |
12.00-12.30 | Die Sprache der Wissenschaft | |
12.30-13.30 | Lunch Break (Self-catering) |
|
MEHRSPRACHIGES WIEN | ||
13.30-14.00 | Narratives of Migration-based Multilingualism: The Case of the Serbian Community in Vienna | Sanja Miketić Subotić |
14.00-14.30 | (Post)Sowjetische Self- und Re-Branding-Strategien in den Wiener Linguistic Landscapes: Eine Fallstudie der sog. „russischen Läden“ in deutschsprachigen Großstädten | |
14.30-15.00 | „Wenn Mause und Vogeln sich um drei Stift streiten“: Inner- und | Katharina Korecky-Kröll, Marina Camber, Kumru Uzunkaya-Sharma & Wolfgang U. Dressler |
15.00-15.30 | Coffee Break |
|
INNERE UND ÄUSSERE MEHRSPRACHIGKEIT IN ÖSTERREICH | ||
15.30-16.00 | Aspekte der (Mehr-)Sprachigkeit in Österreich – Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Erhebung | Agnes Kim, Wolfgang Koppensteiner, Maria Schinko, Alexandra N. Lenz & Stefan Michael Newerkla |
16.00 | Closing words | |
5 November 2024
Austrian Academy of Sciences
Festive Hall
Dr. Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2
1010 Vienna
