Theoretical Frameworks for a Person-Oriented Approach to Multilingualism: The Case of South Tyrolean Schützen

Abstract

Summary.Starting with the cultural standardisation due to the phenomenon of globalisation, which has led to the liquid modernity, the article suggests some proposals for an approach more respectful of the cultural and linguistic rights of both people and communities. A person-oriented approach appears to be the best solution to guarantee linguistic and cultural diversity. The article presents a case study of the South Tyrolean Schützen that can be considered as a concrete example of a person-oriented philosophy as demonstrated by their engagement in the defence of local identity through the centuries. Born as a territorial militia in the Modern Age, they reacted to the ideology of the Enlightenment and to the French Revolution because they rejected the principles at the basis of the nation-state. Nowadays they oppose to globalisation and cultural levelling. The article resorts to theoretical frameworks pertaining to (1) sociology, i.e., Putnam's social capital that centres on the civic values of trust and solidarity, (2) linguistics, i.e., the ethno-linguistic approach that focuses on cultural aspects of language and (3) philosophy, i.e., the critique of the nation-state model and the idiofobia (i.e., the 'fear of different identities'). These topics emerge from the analysis of the activities of the Schützen, thus proposing them as a model suitable for contemporary society. According to their philosophy, preservation of cultural diversity is not limited to cultural aspects, but involves a broad topic, namely the person and the community conceived as two distinct subjects, and at the same time necessary for a rights-oriented, multicultural, and multilingual society.