Carles
Torner
International PEN Club
President of the Follow-up Committee
of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights
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An old legend says that, a long time
ago, there was a king that heard that in his country there
lived a truly wise man. He was so wise, they said, that he
could speak all the languages in the world. He knew the song
of the birds and understood it as if he were one of them. He
knew how to read the shape of the clouds and immediately
understand their meaning. Any language he listened to, he
could answer without hesitation. He could even read the
thoughts of men and women wherever they came from. The king,
impressed by all the qualities that were attributed to him,
called him to his palace. And the wise man came.
When he was there, the king asked him:
"Wise man, is it true that you know all the languages of
the world?"
"Yes, Sir," was the answer.
"Is it true that that you listen to the birds and you
can understand their song?"
"Yes, Sir."
"That you know how to read the shape of the
clouds?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And, as I have been told, that you can even read
people's minds?"
"Yes, Sir."
The king still had a last question…
But, which question would we put to the wisest of all the
wise men?
Which languages from all over the world are spoken by the
authors of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights?
Countless, we would dare to say. In any case, from more than
90 states and 5 continents, more than 200 people gathered on
June 6th, 1996, in Barcelona to proclaim the Declaration.
Some represented small local NGOs committed to teaching a
language not recognized by the official education system of
their country. There were writers in many different languages
who make use of their language everyday to create literary
universes open to all. Other represented international NGOs
whose mission is the defence of linguistic rights. Other were
experts in law, in languages, in sociolinguistics and in
various domains of knowledge which converge in the academic
study of linguistic rights.
For all of them, the Universal Declaration of Linguistic
Rights promises a future of coexistence and peace thanks to
the recognition of the right that each linguistic community
has to shape its own life in its own language in all fields.
And so they proclaimed. Since then, the Universal Declaration
of Linguistic Rights has spread: each month there is news
about its translation into a new language, a new affiliation
of some organization that might not have been associated to
the process, or about an international personality who has
decided to support the Declaration and with it the defence of
all languages in an international context which threatens the
survival of many of them.
That original text, written, amended, approved and proclaimed
at a non-governmental level wants nevertheless to contribute
to the work of the United Nations. It aims to be a strong
motivation, an appeal to the states so that, in the dynamics
started by the Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, they
would recognize the linguistic rights of the individuals and
of their communities. The association of UNESCO to our
process from the very beginning and the work it has been
doing along these lines gives us hope that some day a
normative body of the United Nations regulating the defence
of linguistic rights all over the world will be approved.
This book wants to contribute to this work.
In this book the text of the Universal Declaration of
Linguistic Rights appears and it is explained how it was
written and proclaimed in the World Conference on Linguistic
Rights. It is the work done by 61 NGOs, 41 PEN Club centres
and over 40 experts in linguistic rights, coming from the
five continents. The testimony of well-known personalities
from all over the world also appears, as well as that of
writers and people who fight for rights, for peace and who
wanted to join us in this project.
We all, like that king in the fairy tale, may put the last
question to that wise man who knew all the languages of the
world. The king looked at him as if defying him, as if
testing him, and asked him the final question:
"In my hands, which are hidden behind my back, there is
a bird. Wise man, answer me: is it alive or dead?"
The answer of the wise man was addressed to everybody. In our
case, to everybody who has any responsibility in promoting
linguistic rights, from the militant to the writer, from the
teacher to the legislator. For that wise man, surprisingly,
felt scared. He knew that, whatever the answer, the king
could kill the bird. He looked at the king and remained
silent for a long time. Finally, with a very serene voice he
said:
"The answer, Sir, is in your hands."
The answer is in our hands.