Eurolinguistics Newsletter No. 2 (January 2006) The Eurolinguistic Circle of Mannheim (ELA No.MA, 1 (Feb.e.V.) on2005) behalf of The Eurolinguistic Association (ELA) Editorial • aims, concepts and international 1. In Rome: “Tavola Ro- cooperation in Eurolinguistics; Dear Eurolinguists, and tonda on founding a Euro- • the historical parallel between In this issue four conferences during linguistic Association – our undertaking and the goals of Circle Linguistique de Prague 2005 are presented here in which aims, concepts and interna- Elama played an active role of organi- (CLP), our model and precursor. sation and lecturing: in Rome (April), tional cooperation” Mannheim (May), Uppsala (Sept.) and Background and reasons for Vilnius (Nov.). Noteworthy in 2005 was (Paper given at the Convegno Interna- founding a Europe-wide asso- the foundation of Eurolinguistica Sud, a zionale at Università degli Studi di Ro- branch of the larger association to be ma “La Sapienza”, Eurolinguistica e ciation founded in 2006, Eurolinguistic Asso- Multiculturità, in collaboratione con ciation (ELA), at the 7th Eurolinguistics L’Universtità di Roma Tre , April 11 and The decision to found a Europe-wide Symposium planned for Berlin (Hum- 12, 2005) Eurolinguistic Association was taken boldt Univ.) in Oct. 5-8, 2006. All inter- unanimously by a local committee in St ested Eurolinguists are cordially invited Andrews, Scotland, last year on June Opening and welcome 12, 2004, when ten members of the 5th to Berlin! Finally, we want to remind all active Symposium from Belgium, Croatia, Dear colleagues and friends of Eurolin- Germany, Italy, Scotland and Sweden participants to send in their contribu- guistics, tions of the Uppsala Symposium before On behalf of Eurolin- March 1, 2006 to the following address: guistischer Arbeitskreis Mann- [email protected] heim (ELAMA), I welcome you all to this round table which will pre- With the best Eurolinguistic greetings, pare for the foundation of a P. S. Ureland, st Europe-wide Eurolinguistic As- 1 Chairman of ELAMA sociation. We will be mainly con- cerned with the background, Contents aims and purposes of such an association and leave the formal procedures and modalities to the 1. In Rome: “Tavola Rotonda on upcoming Uppsala Symposium founding a Euro-linguistic Association in September of this year. In ad- – aims, concepts and international vance of any formal decision it cooperation” ......................................1 was considered better to give the members belonging to the newly 2. In Mannheim: Europawoche 2005 - constituted Eurolinguistica Sud Besuch aus der Heldenstadt an opportunity to express their Timişoara, Austellung und Vorträge ..5 opinions about such a wide- ranging Eurolinguistic associa- 3. In Uppsala: Eurolinguistic activities tion. We will have to elect a at the 6th Eurolinguistic Symposium in president, a vice-president, a Uppsala, Sweden 2005 .....................6 secretary, a treasurer, an editor of a yearbook and accountants 4. In Vilnius: Report on The for Eurolinguistic Association International Conference on Language (ELA), the overall organization to and Didactics at the Vilnius be named and constituted. Here Pedagogical University, Nov. 2005....9 I will deal with three different top- ics: • background and reasons for founding a Eurolin- guistic Association; “Minerva“, the symbol of “La Sapienza“, Univ.ofRome Eurolinguistic Association (ELA) Newsletter 02 (January 2006) 2 convened and discussed whole one can ascertain that the foundation of such an there can be no exclusion of association based on the linguistics in Russia, Poland, or model and constitution al- the Czech and Slovak Repub- ready set by ELAMA. How- lics in the past and the present, ever, most of the members if we want to claim a relevant of the panel represented Europe-wide approach to Eu- European languages north rolinguistics. One can point out of the Alps excepting two the valuable contributions of persons. Therefore it was Slavic linguistics to Eurolin- my pleasure in Rome to be guistics embodied in the amply outnumbered by schools of eastern universities eight Eurolinguists south of and academies: the so-called the Alps, who founded Eu- Moscow School, the St Peters- rolinguistica Sud on April burg School and those of Ka- 11, in an informal meeting which was and south of the Alps - Eurolinguistics san, Charkov, Warsaw, and, last but attended by eight persons.1 North and Eurolinguistics South - the not least, that of Prague. There is no addition of further points of orientation isolated Russian, Polish or Czech lin- in Eurolinguistics West and Eurolinguis- guistics. They all belong to the devel- Aims, concepts and internati- tics East has been found to be neces- opment and evolution of European lin- sary for the future, when the concept of guistics – Eurolinguistics. This view, as onal cooperation in Eurolingu- Eurolinguistics will gain broader accep- presented by Olga Voronkova in her istics tance and additional members of the paper, would furnish us with a basis for west and the east will subscribe to the developing an international network of Europe is a relatively large continent view of Europe as a linguistic and cul- experts for Eurolinguistica.org. We with complicated ethnic and linguistic tural unit. need to hear all the voices of Eurolin- diversity. Following the motto of the guistics North and South, East and European Union “Unity in diversity”, this Therefore, Dr Olga Voronkova, Heidel- West and even include European lan- diversity necessitates the cooperation berg/Mannheim, had been asked to guage studies overseas – Global Eurol- of a larger and more complete panel of cover some of these lesser-known inguistics - before deciding on the es- experienced scholars than was present eastern languages and cultures by pre- sence and geographical outlines of this in St Andrews in 2004 in order to lay the senting some of the major schools of new discipline of linguistics. This was groundwork for describing the conver- Eurolinguistics which deal with Eurolin- what students in Rome expected of us gence and divergence of linguistic and guistics East and Southeast (the Baltic Eurolinguists in our attempts to inno- cultural diversity in Europe, which was States, Russia, the Caucasus and the vate and reform language studies by also the title of the Rome Convegno In- Euroasian areas). creating a new type of linguistics with a ternationale in April 2005 Eurolinguis- human face – Eurolinguistics. The tica e Multiculturalità. As most members Aims and international coop- goals of Eurolinguistics were received in the Tavola Rotonda in Rome came eration with Europe-minded enthusiasm among from southern Europe, we were assem- the students and teachers of Rome in bled to complement the limited list of April 2005 – this response was so With the constitution of Eurolinguistica northern European participants in St spontaneous that one could speak of a Sud, an important step had been taken Andrews. With their expertise of south- significant “Wende” in European lin- in this direction. To be certain, we were ern Europe they covered France, Italy, guistics. concerned with a declaration of intent Greece and Spain/Portugal. However, for a much wider European develop- in a panel which was supposed to cover Concepts of cardinal points the major part of Europe, members ment of linguistics which would achieve a true pan-European perspective. How from East- and West-European areas In the Eurolinguistic theory formation should also be present; these were also were we to approach the East- European areas with their numerous since 1999, the year of the foundation lacking in St Andrews. Since our main of ELAMA, a number of new concepts axis of geographical distribution is north languages and peoples in the EU- enlargement process? Should we leave for dealing with divergence and conver- 1 them aside because they were new or gence of European languages have See picture with the following persons not yet members of the European Union been proposed. The term Eurolinguis- from left to right: Christiana Pugliese (Uni- tics itself is a new coinage by Prof. No- versità di Molise); Aniello Angelo Avella (U- or Nato? Certainly not, it would mean niversità di Roma); Josè Maria Jiménez Ca- an incomplete treatment or perspective. bert Reiter at the Freie Universität Ber- no (Universitad di Murcia); Paola Placella Not only was I thinking of the geo- lin, Südost-Europa Institut. He stresses (Università di Roma); Sture Ureland (Hono- graphical neglect in the treatment of the great similarity and mutual interac- rary member, Universität Mannheim); Giu- these eastern linguistic areas, but also tion which constitute a huge European seppe Castorina (Università di Roma “La of the sociopolitical neglect of important “Sprachbund” in the sense of the Pra- Sapienza”); Gheorghe Carageani (Università linguistic theory formation and expertise gue Linguistic School. In presenting the di Roma “La Sapienza”) and Stefano Arduini in not recognizing the East-European concept of Eurolinguistics to the audi- (Università di Urbino). contributions to Eurolinguistics. On the ence at “La Sapienza” last year, I also Eurolinguistic Association (ELA) 2 Newsletter 02 (January 2006) introduced the ELAMA- Logos and the Pushkin Theses (in English and Ital- ian). To further elucidate the interaction between Euro- pean languages: the con- trapuntal arrows converging in the centre of the logo symbolize the meeting of multilingual interference, transfer and adaptation processes between