Session Chair:
Marco Civico – marco.civico@unige.ch
Keywords: language economics, sociolinguistics, language policy, multilingualism, language minorities
Description:
In the past few years, more and more scholars have come to the conclusion that language issues are inherently complex, in that they have roots in and an impact on several different fields. Multilingualism is indeed only one of the numerous aspects that constitute the diversity of many modern societies. Languages are inextricably connected to their cultural, social, economic and political context. Besides, they are a crucial element in the identity building process of every individual from birth and play a major role in the development of people’s sociality.
Traditionally, simulation and agent-based modelling are first-line tools in the research of causation links in complex phenomena. This panel aims at exploring the dynamics of language-related issues, which includes (but are not limited to):
- language contact,
- multilingual communication,
- the status of language minorities,
- the inclusion of allophone migrants,
- the cohesion of multilingual communities,
- bilingualism and diglossia,
- the acquisition of language skills,
- the evolution and variation of language,
- and the emergence of idiolects.
This panel is strongly interdisciplinary, therefore interventions coming from scholars in sociology, economics, sociolinguistics, and psychology, as well as any other academic disciplines in the social sciences, are highly encouraged.