21st International Congress of Linguists (ICL)
On the 8th-14th of September 2024, the 21st International Congress of Linguists (ICL), hosted by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, took place in the Poznań Congress Centre (PCC). Its focus theme was, “Languages, Communities, Technologies”. It was a major event in scholarship in the humanities. It was a long Congress, and it represented over a thousand speakers from numerous countries of the world. ...
On the 8th-14th of September 2024, the 21st International Congress of Linguists (ICL), hosted by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, took place in the Poznań Congress Centre (PCC). Its focus theme was, “Languages, Communities, Technologies”. It was a major event in scholarship in the humanities. It was a long Congress, and it represented over a thousand speakers from numerous countries of the world.
Plenaries took place in Earth Hall of the Poznań Congress Centre (PCC) and in joint rooms 1F+1G, which housed huge, interested audiences. Plenary 2 on the 9th of September was given online by Professor Frederick J. Newmeyer, who deliberated the question whether one language can be “more complex” than another. Assuming that this was proven in modern linguistics, Professor Newmeyer considered the question in the history of linguistics, and he seemed to be showing that the complexity of languages was a relative state although he mentioned that social-historical complexity of languages cannot be denied. He also pointed out that isolation produced complexity yet contact decreased it. His illustrative example was Lithuanian, which has been known as the most complex Indo-European language. Yet, he noted, Lithuanian has hardly been isolated minding its contacts with Polish, Russian, German, Swedish and other languages. Many small, isolated languages “have millions of speakers and large complexity inventories”. Some languages have few speakers but many complexities.
After this inspiring lecture, a question from the audience was why Professor Newmeyer has ignored stylistic complexities of language, to which the answer was that “adult literary language is more complex than routine language of average speakers”. This plenary was a scientific lecture which nevertheless had its human appeal.
The 2nd plenary of the 11th of September 2024 was on “The Sociolinguistic situation in Ukraine”, given by Professor Isabella Buniyatova, who highlighted social and verbal problem points in the war-torn country. She concluded her lecture by saying that both Ukrainian and Russian are languages in use but “the attitude to Russians has critically changed”. The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees the functioning and protection of the Ukrainian language and the use of Russian and other minority languages.
Regular Congress presentations were very well planned. Several joint sessions had thematic introductory talks. The session of lexicology and lexicography began with an introduction on modern lexicography, given by Professors Lew and Wojciechowska, and diverted to specific questions in this applied field. There was also an introductory talk on Corpus linguistics, given by Professors Tomaszewska and Ogrodniczuk, who explained the potential of corpora and big data but who also mentioned the importance of the human mind in modern lexicology and lexicography.
Professors Chwałczuk and Balas presented on the training of interpreters and on how training affects plasticity in the domain of general interpreting control. They mentioned the adaptive multilingual brain in managing multiple languages through switching, “extreme” language control and the taxing modality of switching between languages. They concluded by emphasizing the need of pre- and post-test methodology, more neuroscience research and more neuro-work measuring.
Marija Liudvika Drazdauskiene and Wojciech Kowałski, Wszechnica Polska, Academy of Applied Sciences in Warsaw, gave a joint presentation, titled “Insights into the semantic structure of idioms”, in the section of lexicology and lexicography. Their observations included a statement that proper names in idioms stand apart even when their content is enriched by etymological meaning, while common nouns are deeply integrated in idioms through interior semic links between the words. Their presentation drew an enthusiastic reaction from the audience, who noted how long idioms remain in function even after their referential reality disappears. Idioms loke ‘put on your grown-up boy’s pants’ or “I must straighten my seams’ have kept functioning long into modern history after the background reality had changed.
Professor Adrey Shluinsky, of Moscow State University, presented the 1st plenary on the 12th of September 2024, titled “Languages, communities and technologies: workflow in linguistic documentation and description as a bridge”. He showed the audience how linguistic research of little-documented language is carried out today and what challenges this presents.
Other notable papers included one on auxiliaries and ellipsis in modern English given by Professor Griffiths, a presentation, titled “Bringing variation to Lingua Franca”, given by Mr Gerald Stell, of Lausanne University, who focused on convergence between English ‘accents’, ethnicities, gender and class. Mr. Stell was an exceptionally notable speaker whose presentation earned admiration from the audience. A paper on, “Poets say woof woof, scientists say dog”, given by Leonardo discussed iconic language, which is a new turn in formulaic language, a paper on “Subjective correlate: from subtlety to stereotype”, given by Professors Preston and Niedzielski, and the closing plenary on the 13th of September 2024, titled “Empirical coverage vs theoretical implications: In search of phonology in speech sound systems”, given by Eugeniusz Cyran, KUL, Lublin, should also be mentioned.
The success of the Congress (21st CIL) owed much to the effort and participation of Professor Katarzyna Dziubałska-Kołaczyk, Pro-Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University, who was a member of the Organising Board, who actively attended the presentations and planned the cultural programme of the Congress. The participants enjoyed a concert by Ray Wilson in the Grand Theatre of Poznań, and a concert of old vocal harmonies given by the Chamber Choir of Adam Mickiewicz University in the Aula of the University. The participants had also the pleasure in listening to songs at the Congress Dinner on the 12th of September 2024.
The 21st International Congress of Linguists (ICL), which takes place only every five years, was an event to remember, with an acknowledgment of the contribution of the Adam Mickiewicz University, the host University this year.