Gerald Roche (Uppsala University' Hugo Valentin Centre, Suède), donnera une conférence intitulée :

A Historical Language Ecology Perspective on Tibet's Linguistic Diversity

Résumé/Abstract:  The Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions are home to a high degree of linguistic diversity. The region is estimated to be home to approximately fifty Tibetic languages, as well as almost the same number of non-Tibetic languages. In this presentation, I adopt a 'language ecology' approach to examine how this diversity had been created and maintained. My approach draws on the work of such scholars as Voegelin, Haugen, Muhlhausler, Stanford, and Whaley, and defines a language ecology as a system of multiple languages interacting with one another in the context of a specific physical environment.

My presentation offers a historical language ecology perspective insofar as I attempt to trace how Tibet's languages interacted with one another through time, giving rise to changing patterns of diversity. Specifically, I look at historical periods of centralization and fragmentation in Tibet, patterns of human mobility, and the impact of topology and hydrography on linguistic diversity. I describe how these factors created an intricate pattern of linguistic diversity characterized by complex relations of multilingualism and diglossia throughout the region. I argue that such an holistic, large-scale, and long durée perspective is essential for understanding contemporary events in Tibet, both in terms of the transformation of the region's linguistic diversity, and other broader social trends.

Date et lieu : le mardi 12 mai 2015,  de 15h à 17h, à l'INaLCO, Salle 221, 2 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris