During a lively dinner debate, my conversation partner asked me what plurilingualism is. I replied, in accordance with the usual definition, that plurilingualism is the ability of a person to use at least one language other than their first or mother tongue adequately. However, this answer seemed a little short to me, and I remembered a lecture given by Heinz Wismann in Brussels in 2008 in which he explained that if one language alone could say everything, then there would be no need for linguistic diversity. A single language would suffice. This highly philosophical reflection has stayed with me ever since, even though we held the first European Conference on Plurilingualism in Paris in 2005. And it is this reflection that forms the basis of the book that the OEP has just published, From Babel to AI – Writings on Plurilingualism.
The idea that no language can claim to have the capacity to say everything calls for an immediate addition: attention to others, to who they are and what they think and say, all with a relative point of view. A point of view that does not erase reality. The relativity of the point of view is not absolute relativism.
All this seems very banal. Yet everyday life shows us exactly the opposite, whether in terms of individual behavior or international relations.
“The Truth is what I believe.” If we sift through private and public statements made by anonymous individuals or public figures, including heads of state, even the head of state of the world's leading power, we can see how widespread this attitude is. There are two extreme versions of this formula: “What I believe is the Truth, and there is only one Truth.” In principle, all religions say this. Or, “To each his own Truth.” We must learn to navigate between absolutism and absolute relativism.
Let's try to transpose this to the international level.
Doesn't diplomacy begin with knowing the other?
Doesn't the art of war begin with understanding the plans of the one we designate as the adversary?
There are words to express this.
The cult of power for power's sake is called “imperialism” and “unilateralism.” Openness to others and the search for a balance of interests are called ‘dialogue’ and “multilateralism.”
What does this mean in terms of international and European institutions?
Despite the treaties, the European Union combines a fundamental practical unilingualism with the affirmation of a superficial multilingualism. The practices and symbolism of Brussels must change.
Let us now turn to the economic level.
The individual advantages of plurilingualism are beginning to be recognized. Now that the need for a minimum knowledge of English as a lingua franca is widely recognized, from shopkeepers and supermarket cashiers to senior executives, the ability to add to this standard language a sufficient command of the language of the country in which one is going to work or stay is a quality whose value is beginning to be recognized. That is the first point.
There is much more. In a given society, local professional knowledge and expertise in various languages must circulate, and professional knowledge and expertise from the outside world must be transposed and able to feed into and become part of internal dynamics. This is called “development linguistics.” “Development linguistics” is not the work of scholars; it is also a field discipline that is part of local dynamics. It is Plurilingualism in action.
Let's continue with research and science.
For too long, we have imagined that research was a linear process of progress. No one can deny that progress exists. But it is not linear. We make progress in some areas, but we can regress in others. And progress is not absolute. It can itself have negative consequences. All this is fairly obvious, but it is not enough. What has just been said must be collectively shared, which is far from being a given. Yet it is the basis for future progress. But we have not said anything yet. Science, contrary to a persistent and unscientific belief, cannot be expressed in a single language. Unilingualism creates scientific biases. In the humanities, this is obvious. The recent discovery of non-English texts in Australia has provided a better understanding of the origins and history of modern Australia. The same is true in the so-called hard sciences, as we are discovering that scientific creativity does not emerge in the lingua franca, but rather in the mother tongues or first languages that carry within them the cultures that saw them born and flourish. Hence the vast movement underway for “open science,” that is, science that does not deny but rather relies on linguistic diversity. There is a need for multilingual research.
We must not be afraid to talk about “domination.” It is not a dirty word.
When you create something, you unwittingly exercise domination, even if the word may be frightening. Domination is in the nature of things. It is pointless to fight it on principle. But it obviously takes on toxic forms when it becomes an end in itself. It can be said that it brings a positive and indispensable dynamic while at the same time revealing vulnerabilities. It must be valued but at the same time compensated for. It is this delicate complexity that needs to be deciphered and constructed during the 7th Assises conference organized by the OEP from May 20 to 22, 2026, in Paris.
Attention should be drawn to the originality of the form of our work From Babel to Artificial Intelligence - Writings on Plurilingualism. It is both an essay and an anthology. It brings together numerous authors, both past and present, many of whom are still very active, to discuss a major theme through different chapters that are like movements, in the style of “variations on the theme of...”. I echo the compliment given to us by our dear friend, Pierre Judet de La Combe: "This book is a true compendium, both theoretical and historical. It's magnificent!" How can we not seek to recognize the many philosophical and historical roots of plurilingualism, namely that diversity is an unavoidable state of the world, and then draw all the consequences from this, with the concept itself in its modern expression as set out by the Council of Europe, and its various political, geopolitical, educational, scientific, literary, and poetic variations, and the cement that holds it all together: translation and plurilingualism.
Plurilingualism is beginning to have a very fine bibliography and is now very present in the world of research. Many excellent authors are not included in this already copious work. We apologize to them. We will meet again anyway, because there is still so much to be done to bring plurilingualism from the world of research into everyone's lives and to reach decision-makers in all fields.
Christian Tremblay
Christian Tremblay