"Communication in Slovene" Slovensko Slovensko

Conference Aims

The basis of an exhaustive description of a language is extensive language material as a primary source, which enables an analysis of language phenomena and their presentation in reference books. For a realistic description of a language it is necessary to collect an extensive representative sample of the language – i.e. texts and speech – and to process and rearrange such data by means of appropriate linguistic methods into secondary resources – dictionaries, grammar books, etc. Since languages are subject to constant change this process must be carefully planned and continuous. Every community that is founded on the basis of a common standardized language with which it identifies must ensure the effective creation and updating of fundamental language resources. Only in this manner can it ensure effective and full communication as well as a rich and multifaceted cultural, political, and economic life. Such an interest can be realized by means of state funding, within a private sector framework, or by some form of fruitful co-operation of the two.

In order to realize the interests of the community of Slovene speakers by means of public financing, it is reasonable to ensure the constant production of secondary language resources which must be regularly updated in accordance with the evolving language. In this sense it is necessary to envisage which resources are of strategic importance for the speakers of the Slovene language and to distribute available financial means in an efficient and effective manner in accordance with such estimation.

What must be taken into consideration above all are those resources that have traditionally been in the form of books:
monolingual dictionaries of the general Slovene language
Slovene language grammar books
orthographic, punctuation, and pronunciation rules
bilingual dictionaries (of strategically important languages)
terminological dictionaries (for the most important fields)

In this era of the rapid development of computer science, linguistic and lexicographic theory and practice have developed a range of tools and language resources that are fundamentally different from classical lexicographic works but which have the same role in fulfilling the communicational needs of language communities, which they perform more efficiently by means of the new technologies (the world wide web, mobile telephony, etc.). The required knowledge must primarily be provided by linguists, but it would be sensible, furthermore, to undertake the following:
to carry out a systematic estimation of the crucial language resources and reference books for the Slovene language in order for it to continue to develop as a fully functional language and successfully establish itself as one of the official languages of the European Union,
finance or co-finance from public funding those individuals or institutions that (will) most efficiently realize the goals established with regard to language resources and reference books,
to develop infrastructure and procedures for a standardized and as simple as possible exchange of language resources, due to the fact that language information from various resources is transferable and reusable,
to prevent redundant public financing of equal or similar resources, to promote the joining and co-operation of those active in this field, and to ensure control mechanisms in order to monitor such efforts in terms of finance as well as content.

This conference has been organized in order to contribute to solving the above-mentioned questions from the standpoint of the expert community, as well as in a narrower sense, that is, from the standpoint of the objectives of the Communication in Slovene project.
MŠŠ EU