Multilingualism in works of Linguists and Philosophers of the first half of the 20th century

Abstract

The dynamics of linguistic and cultural processes in the world and Europe during the 20th century demonstrated the interest of researchers to the phenomenon of the transnational character formation of the European identity. The article examines this topic via multilingualism that was widely discussed by Russian and European philosophers and linguists in the first half of the past century. According to A. Meillet (1866-1936) the linguistic situation in Europe at that time was problematic. One group of thinkers considered the multiplicity of languages to be an obstacle for communication between peoples and tried to create a universal language (Esperanto). Others recognized the importance of every language that expressed the national identity of people. Some authors tried to explain the diversity of languages according to the legend of the Tower of Babel, which appears like the image of multilingual Europe. They supported the idea of the original language sent by God and believed that all human languages are derived from it. This problem interested Russian Philosophers N. Trubetzkoy (1890-1938), S. Bulgakov (1871-1944), P. Florenskij (1882-1937). They proved that the problem is not purely linguistic, but epistemological and cognitive as well. The theme appears again in the works of contemporary thinkers of the early twenty-first century. They are in search of the unity in linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe. In their works the transnational image of European culture is manifested on the level of shared ideas and values among different peoples.