FW: Discussion: Our ethical responsibility

[Johanna Laakso]

Dear colleagues,

Simona Klemenčič from a neighbouring linguistic discipline makes some, in my
view, quite essential points. By her permission, I forward the message to
the list, too.

Best
JL
-- 
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso
Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und
Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL) | Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
Universitätscampus Spitalgasse 2-4 Hof 7, A-1090 Wien
Tel. +43 1 4277 43019, (VoIP) +43 599664 43019 | Fax +43 1 4277 9430
johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at | http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/

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Am 14.12.2006 16:36 Uhr schrieb "Simona Klemenčič" unter
<simona.klemencic at guest.arnes.si>:

Dear Ms Laakso,


this is a flourishing time for romantic linguistics and pseudo-science.
What's going on in Hungary and not only is a reflex of two coinciding
processes, firstly an answer to the new Europe's member countries'
discomfort about being the second-range citizens inside EU and secondly the
decline of comparative linguistics in general. It's the second process I'm
deeply concerned about as well as you and your colleagues - being a
comparative Slavic and Indo-European linguist myself.

We've come to a point where "money market" seems to control every segment of
our lives. It's revolutionary ideas, no matter how unfounded, that sell
well. Apparently academic circles are not immune to this either. We're
forced to produce, to collect points, to sell.

What can be done? I don't know. I'm in great temptation to say "It's not us,
it's them", but the fact is that this is happening and that if we don't
change something in our attitude we're a species on our way to extinction.

Part of our fault if there's any is not being present in the public enough.
People mostly don't even know that there exists such a science as ours. They
get the Marcantonio's book (or a book on glorious Venetic origins of
Slovenes in this country's case) in their hands, not your commentary on it.
And they say: "This sounds so good it's probably true". They don't have
second thoughts on the book because they don't even know that there are
people who are qualified to judge this kind of stuff. And why don't they?

Sometimes the "real" scientists seem to think that popularizing our science
is somehow below a comparative
linguist. The situation is complex and complicated, but *that* is one thing
I can point at. We should try and "sell" too. Not for money  but for the
fact that if people don't know we exist - then we as good as don't.

 
Sincerely,

dr. Simona Klemenčič
Oddelek z primerjalno in splošno jezikoslovje, Filozofska fakulteta,
Ljubljana
Inštitut za slovenski jezik, ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana
Slovenija



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