[Lingtyp] languages of scholarship

[Hurch, Bernhard (bernhard.hurch@uni-graz.at)]

What is raised here is, to my advice a rather superficial question of style and of appearance.
There is a more general point about this question: those colleagues who are not able to read and appropriately understand a quotation in let's say French or German or Spanish or Russian will not be able to receive and understand scientific essays, linguistic sources and materials in these languages. They will also be unable to understand and critically evaluate a quotation if they can't approach the source of the quotation. In other words: if your abilities are limited to read and understand only English you will miss about 90% of the relevant literature and sources etc. on e.g. Latin-American indigenous languages. 90% of the relevant literature on Caucasian languages etc.
Do we want the linguistic discourse be of this limited type? Unfortunately we are speeding up on our way in this annoying direction.
Instead of a further restriction we should think about appropriate ways to re-open the scientific discourse strategies.

PS: By the way, Schuchardt 100 years ago published in 12 different languages and coresponded in 22 different languages (http://schuchardt.uni-graz.at<http://schuchardt.uni-graz.at/>). Why should internationalization of scientific discourse only mean ‘anglification’.
I do agree, it is a question of power (Make America great again). But still it is unpleasant and not really forward-looking.
Bernhard

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