[lg policy] Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Language Policy

[Harold Schiffman]

Language Policy

Switzerland lives linguistic diversity and benefits from it. Meanwhile
English has become the dominant language in science and academia. The
Swiss research community has to find a balance between regional
identity and internationalisation. It is in this context that the
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) adopted its own language
policy in 2010.

General principles of the SNSF language policy

The SNSF has developed a rich linguistic practice. Faced with the
globalisation of science, the organisation found it necessary to adopt
a policy regarding the various languages. This policy is not intended
as a dogmatic set of rules but rather as a pragmatic framework
consisting of some basic principles:

    * Linguistic diversity is an asset und needs to be recognised as
such. It needs to coexist with the international focus of research,
which is mandatory to maintain quality and competitiveness. English,
the "lingua franca" of science, is indispensable but it is not
sufficient on its own. The SNSF encourages the use of English while
making sure that scientific and academic practice in Switzerland do
not become standardised under the influence of globalisation.

    * Public communication of the SNSF is conducted in German and
French. In international contexts English is used and occasionally
Italian. The SNSF will expand the use of English to make services more
accessible to researchers who have recently arrived in Switzerland.
Scientific communication with researchers is generally conducted in
English with the exception of the humanities and social sciences (not
all disciplines).

 * Internally, the SNSF encourages a culture of linguistic diversity.
It enjoys a balanced representation of languages in its bodies and
aims to maintain this. The SNSF strives to create an optimum work
environment for research councillors who are not fluent in French or
German. Scientific debates relating to the evaluation of proposals are
generally held in English with the exception of the humanities and
social sciences (not all disciplines).

On the basis of these principles, improvement measures have been
defined. A committee is tasked with the annual monitoring of
linguistic developments.


Linguistic diversity: added value for science

Language is an important element in the construction and circulation
of knowledge. Experience and studies show that the quality of research
is boosted by multilingual practice whether it is in research teams,
with partners, in communicating with students or even with the public
at large. This requires plurilingual competencies of researchers: they
need a very high level in their first language, fluency in English and
a working knowledge of other languages. The SNSF therefore invites
researchers and research institutions to valorise plurilingualism in
Swiss research.


At the same time the SNSF is critically evaluating its own use of
languages, particularly in scientific debates at the National Research
Council. In this context, there are plans to launch an experimental
project with international collaboration.

On this Subject

    * Language policy of the Swiss National Science Foundation (May
2010) (PDF, 59 KB)
    * Mehrsprachigkeit in Wissensproduktion und Wissenstransfer / Les
enjeux du plurilinguisme pour la construction et la circulation des
savoirs (PDF, 222 KB)
      Schweizerische Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften
(SAGW) / Académie suisse des sciences humaines et sociales (ASSH)

Contact
Press and Information Office
E-mail: pri at snf.ch

http://www.snf.ch/E/current/Dossiers/Pages/language_policy_snsf.aspx

-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents.
Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal,
and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message.
 A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well.  (H. Schiffman,
Moderator)

For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
listinfo/lgpolicy-list
*******************************************

_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list