Download - Российский комитет Программы ЮНЕСКО ...

and how to promote social/digital inclusion of these communities. Still, if we
consider that Prof. David Crystal (2006) estimates the loss of two thirds (2/3)
of the living languages of the world in the next three generations, we have
to hurry. We have a big picture of the languages that we are connected with,
and the countries concerned, and I’ll draw some lines on the position that our
project holds. It is very important to keep in mind that it is a research project
by individuals feeling concerned with Multilingual issues, who are academics
as well.
I understand that a collective responsibility based ethics could be a good way
to approach Multilingualism in Digital World issues, but to do that researchers
from Latin America and Portuguese Speaking countries have to participate
in international debates and know each other’s work. We need to become a
research network on Multilingualism.
2. At the Academy
“Here the heritage of colonialism and the operation of neocolonialism
can only be confronted by systems of collective responsibility-based ethics, [...]”
(Spivak, 85, 1999)
As a linguist and as a researcher it’s been a new experience to bring
multilingualism to the campus at UNICAMP University, at the city of
Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil. As we all know, the promotion of multilingualism
and inclusive societies do not fit in a specific disciplinary field of knowledge in a
traditional academy for many reasons, and I’ll cite two of them that have surprised
me: first of all, for its extreme interdisciplinary nature, and second because it has
a link with local cultures and local communities that are not always welcome in
educational institutions that traditionally were thought for local elite.
There is lot of work ahead, many layers of change that would be necessary to
have ideal conditions to promote multilingualism in digital world in our region
and with our partner countries. Most of the barriers that we have found are
historical, political and not at all in synchronicity with our project, or are being
changed in a way that enhance such a proposal of digital and social inclusion
like ours. So, we are working against the grain.
2.1. Languages and Academic Tradition
Today, among 192 countries that are part of the UN, approximately 20 national
states have more than one language as its official language. This does not mean
that other societies or countries (like Brazil that have only Portuguese as its
official language) are not bilingual or multilingual, it only shows the lack of
215