Days of Languages in the Ruhr
6 people in discussion / Photo: Marion Nelle
How do people whose families migrated to the region experience their linguistic biographies? And how does their multilingualism impact on their everyday lives? These are among the questions addressed by a linguistics project of the universities of Bochum, Bonn and Duisburg-Essen.
The Ruhr has been shaped by people who have come here from very many different countries. While they may have initially come primarily in order to work, they have also brought with them the customs, habits and practices of their homelands - and their languages.
Researchers and students from the universities of Bochum, Bonn and Duisburg-Essen have interviewed a number of young people who have grown up bilingually, thus creating their own "language biographies". The interviewees talked about the intense emotions and the everyday experiences resulting from speaking the two languages that have become very much a part of them. Active bilingualism has various individual, personal and social dimensions. The second language is often the first that is spoken with family and friends, in clubs and religious organisations.
Besides German, many residents of the Ruhr also speak Polish, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic or Dutch. All of these languages are included in the project. The research findings will be presented at a two-day conference "The Days of Languages" at the Ruhr University Bochum. The first day of the conference concentrates on the academic perspective. However, the findings are not just presented in academic lectures. The content is made accessible to participants and the audience by means of video installations with the assistance of the Multimedia Support Centre of the Ruhr University Bochum. The second day of the conference is conducted with the involvement of individuals from various social, cultural, sports, religious and government bodies. The representatives of the individual bodies describe the form that multilingualism takes in their organisations both in lectures and in open-floor discussions with the audience.
The Days of Languages in the Ruhr is supported by acclaimed academics from the region, representatives of local authorities and religious communities in the Ruhr.
14.10 - 15.10.2010, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Ruhr University Bochum, Event Centre, VZ Hall 2a
Free admission
For further information, please visit:
www.wissenschaft2010.de