Multilingualism/Multilingualism in Digital World

Multilingualism in Digital World

Digital world is not a discipline, neither multilingualism or multiculturalism. But when we bring the debate to academy they “naturally” are expected to become part of a knowledge field, and they are often [mis]interpreted as such. At this moment calling them transversal doesn't say much about our immediate interest, or about our actual needs, although it says a lot about the kind of partners that we are interested – just everyone that feels related to it.

“Multilingualism in digital world” needs a multidisciplinary approach (in short, multilingualism is not always for linguists). There is a large spectrum that goes from language acquisition, computer programming, bilingual/multilingual education, free and open software, public policies on ICTs, language revitalization, ethno-disciplines, regional and national recognition of linguistic and cultural heritage, anthropology, data modeling, arts, etc. There is a myriad of areas that could interact with the subject, because at the end we are talking about human values and practices that we don't want to disappear, and we want to enhance multilingualism and multiculturalism in any way that might benefit local languages and local peoples life; and the digital world is full of possibilities to achieve that. In this sense, there are always ethical aspects to be considered.