About: | Katalin Szende |
Position: | Key Researcher |
Node: | Communication and Mobility |
This study aims at identifying patterns of multilingual coexistence in cities and towns in the Eurasian region in the period between c. 1000 to c. 1600 CE. Research and the workshops related to it will first focus on civic administration and jurisdiction, where the use of several languages was guided by practicality and by the needs of performance of power and authority; second, on religious life and the constant negotiation of sacred traditions and/or liturgical prescriptions in the religious elites; third, on trade and commerce, areas with a high level of flexibility and adaptability in the multilingual discursive practices. Building on recent results in historical sociolinguistics and the ideas emerging from the collaborative workshops, the study aims at a nuanced view on language use and its impact on education, literacy, and identity-building in respective societies. The comprehensive approach of the COE will be particularly useful in comparing the impact of different power regimes from de-facto city states (Dubrovnik, Gdansk) through cities and towns in principalities and centralised kingdoms in East Central Europe to urban nodes and capital cities of empires (Byzantine, Mongol, early Ottoman), of sedentary versus nomadic lifestyles, and of different dominant religions.