JoLIE 15:3/2022

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A WORLD WITHOUT TRANSLATION: THE MONOLINGUAL UTOPIA

 

 

Marco Neves A green circle with white letters AI-generated content may be incorrect.

NOVA University of Lisbon / CETAPS, Portugal

 

 

 

Abstract

 

Language is inherently diverse, and humans have always lived between many languages; moreover, no language is completely uniform. However, throughout history and especially in a context where the Nation-State is particularly important, following the rise of nationalism in the 19th century, there is a general, ill-defined (but very powerful) negative stance towards diversity that can be described as a monolingual utopia. This concept is useful for understanding unhealthy attitudes towards language diversity at different levels—variation inside one language, different languages in one country and languages in contact (diversity can be interpreted as a fractal phenomenon). We will argue that this utopia must be debunked and seen as it really is, a true dystopia, to be challenged and replaced by a pedagogy of diversity and multilingualism. This is a vital step in accommodating the presence of different languages in one society, as is inevitable in a world of migration and cultural exchange where multilingualism and lingua francas are essential. Living and discussing language in a framework of utopian monolingualism will be a source of tension, division and cognitive poverty — naming the problem is a step towards solving it.

 

Keywords: Monolingualism; Multilingualism; Linguistic diversity; Linguistic ideology; Linguistic nationalism.

 

 

References

 

Dorren, G. (2018). Babel: Around the world in 20 languages. London: Profile Books.

 

Eco, U. (1993). La ricerca della lingua perfetta nella cultura europea. Roma-Bari: Laterza.

Faraco, C.A. (2019). História do Português. São Paulo: Parábola.

 

Grégoire, H. (1974). Rapport sur la nécessité et les moyens d’anéantir les patois et d’universaliser l’usage de la langue française. Paris: Convention nationale.

 

McWhorter, J. (2016). Words on the move. New York: Henry Holt and Co.

 

Moreno Cabrera, J.C. (2008). El nacionalismo lingüístico. Barcelona: Peninsula.

 

Ostler, N. (2010). The last lingua franca: English until the return of Babel. London: Walker Books.

 

Syed, M. (2019). Rebal Ideas. London: John Murray.

 

Vieuzac, B.B. (1794). Rapport du Comité de salut public sur les idiomes. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.

 

 

How to cite this article: Neves, M. (2022). A world without translation: The monolingual utopia. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 15(3), 61-70. doi: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2022.15.3.5

 

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