Language and identity: ‘Speak, that I may know thee’

Each and every language in the world is different. Modern linguistics has shown that behind that apparently indomitable diversity of languages lie the same basic principles, the same grammatical mechanisms, the same structural processes, and the same communicative purposes. Why then do we deem some languages more appropriate, beautiful, and prestigious than others? This talk discusses linguistic prejudice, based on social and ideological power relations, and the need to understand that language is an essential part of our individual and collective identity, and as such it needs to be cherished, studied, and preserved.

Bios

Prof Elena Seoane, University of Vigo, and Prof Cristina Suárez-Gómez, University of the Balearic Islands, have a background in English Historical Linguistics and in 2010 created the research group ViEW (Varieties of English Worldwide). They have been researching Gibraltar English since 2015 and are compiling the Gibraltar component of the International Corpus of English.

http://lvtc.webs.uvigo.es/people/elenaseoane

https://view0.webs.uvigo.es/team/cristinasuarez