News |Anatol Stefanowitsch: The limits of language

Photo: VATMH/Mirko Lux

Is the demand for politically correct language an expression of an emancipatory society or of authoritarian rule? "Fair speech alone does not create a fair world. But by using it, we show that we want a fair world at all," writes linguist and blogger Anatol Stefanowitsch in his recent book "A Question of Morality. Why we need politically correct language" (Duden 2018). Others, on the other hand, speak of organized linguistic and intellectual cowardice, which paralyzes practically the entire social field from top to bottom in the political-journalistic space. Do the two positions signify fundamental opposites in our liberal society or is it really something else?

Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. [Nbsp] V. and Literaturhaus Berlin took the annual event in remembrance of the book burning on May 10, 1933 as an opportunity to explore the limits of the sayable together with Linguistics-Professor Anatol Stefanowitsch.

In his lecture, Professor Anatol Stefanowitsch understands the limits of language as that which 1. can be said at all, 2. is allowed to be said, and 3. can be said if one overcomes one's inhibitions. As a suggestion to solve the disputes over language Stefanowitsch formulated a linguistic Golden Rule.


The lecture

Slideshow


An event in cooperation with the Literaturhaus Berlin

Go back