UN Series: Language and Exclusion

A group of experts from a dozen countries attended the May 7, 2015, Symposium on Language and Exclusion organized by the Universal Esperanto Association and the Study Group on Language and the United Nations. The symposium took place at the Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York.  Papers presented at the symposium covered a wide range of fields, all of them with international implications; particular attention was devoted to exclusionary practices in international organizations, with a special emphasis on peacekeeping.

Keynote speaker was Fernand de Varennes, of the University of Pretoria and the University of Hong Kong, well known in UN circles as an expert on human rights law.  “The UN,” declared Professor de Varennes, “has been noticeably timid in addressing the human rights dimensions of language,” an omission all the more remarkable given the instrumentalisation of language claims “in many of the world’s conflicts involving minorities.” He called for greater attention to language both within the United Nations community and in its interaction with the larger world.

Lisa McEntee-Atalianis, of the University of London, offered an extensive analysis of language policy and planning within the United Nations, and Mekki Elbadri, of the United Nations Arabic Translation Service, described UN links with higher educational institutions in the field of translation and interpretation. In two papers, Izadora Xavier (Université Paris 8, France) and José Manuel Ferreiro (Lancaster University, UK) examined discourse in UN peacekeeping missions, while Jenny L. Meier (U.S.Army) and Kurt Müller (National Defense University, USA) offered papers analysing the use of second languages in U.S. peacekeeping and stabilization.

A paper by Rosemary Salomone (St. John’s University, USA) provided updated information on the controversy over the use of English as a language of instruction in higher education in non-English-speaking countries, a topic also addressed by Birna Arnbjörnsdottir, of the University of Iceland, Reykjavík, and Patricia Prinz (Mercy College, USA).  Full program details: www.languageandtheun.org