The project Multilingual Glossary for Multilingual Terms was launched by the international research group LangueFlow in October 2024.
The initiative was proposed by Dr. Jana-Katharina Mende, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. The glossary has been prepared together with Dr. Sabira Ståhlberg, Independent Scholar, and a team of international contributors.
Terminology
Multilingualism, translingualism, plurilingualism, heterolingualism… all are used to describe similar but nuanced phenomena in literary multilingualism studies. In linguistics and adjacent disciplines they have even further meanings.
To make matters more complex, these terms do not translate neatly across languages. German Mehrsprachigkeit and Swedish flerspråkighet, for example, do not align perfectly with English multilingualism, French plurilinguisme, Polish wielojęzyczność or Turkish çokdillilik.
Multilingual literary studies
are inherently interdisciplinary. Scholars from various fields – linguistics, literary studies (including world literature), translation, etc. – each bring their own specialized terminology to analyse and discuss the complexities of multilingual literature. The vast variety and diverse use of terms often creates confusion not only among students but also among researchers.
What could be the solution? Our answer is that a flexible and free multilingual online glossary would be a valuable resource. Key terms, definitions in multiple languages and references for context are part of the glossary.
