Languages at war: policies and practices of language contacts in conflict.

在军事研究中，文化在战争中的作用被视为至关重要。尽管外语往往是战争中文化交锋的关键部分，但那些研究冲突的人传统上很少注意到外语的作用。历史学家倾向于将语言视为外交关系的辅助部分。在这一背景下，话语分析者着眼于一般的语言，而不是外语。笔译专家侧重于语言中间人、口译员或笔译员的作用，而不是非语言战斗人员和平民的语言经验。由于缺乏对战争中语言经验的系统研究，促使我们把重点放在陷入冲突的士兵和平民的第一手描述上，并审查这些经验与官方制定战争外语政策的关系。《战争的语言》汇集了来自两所大学的专家，与帝国战争博物馆建立了创新的合作关系，该博物馆对1914年以来的国际冲突进行了无与伦比的报道，包括与参与者一起录制了约6万小时的录音。首席调查员在战争文化以及外语政策的制定方面具有学术背景，他们的大学雷丁大学和南安普敦大学为这项研究提供了一个支持性的跨学科环境，拥有欧洲历史和文化、战略和军事研究以及跨国接触方面的专家。该项目将审查两个相关但不同的案例研究，一个关于入侵/占领(欧洲，1944-47年)，另一个关于维持和平(波斯尼亚，1995-1998年)。这两个案例研究都与20世纪盟军对欧洲大陆的联合干预有关，但在两个重要方面形成了对比。首先，指挥结构的性质各不相同：在1944-47年的欧洲，盟军指挥官一起工作，但在不同的战区行动，而在波斯尼亚，部队部署在一支多边综合指挥部队中。其次，两个案例研究中的任务构成了截然不同的语言冲突：第一个任务将部队定位为敌对领土的入侵者和占领者，第二个任务将他们定位为敌对敌人集团之间的维和人员。档案和公开资源将使我们能够研究与这两种情况有关的官方语言政策，这些政策将与在帝国战争博物馆举行的参与者的广泛证人陈述相对照，并将由项目组记录的更多访谈加以补充。我们认为，这一项目将使我们能够制定一个框架，以分析语言在战争中的作用，这种作用可以转移到其他战争和冲突局势中。《战争中的语言》旨在确保外语与战争的相关性以一种有强有力的学术研究支持的方式进入公共舞台，这将有助于为公众辩论提供信息，并激发所有相关者未来的思考。通过帝国战争博物馆的积极参与，该项目将在未来博物馆面向公众的展示、展览和节目规划中提高外语的知名度。通过“战争中的语言”咨询小组，从事国际关系和战争人员培训的机构，包括外交和联邦事务部和国防部，将有机会评论、讨论和分享结果。

In military studies, the role of culture in war is seen as vital. Although foreign languages are often a key part of cultural encounters in war, those who study conflict have traditionally paid little attention to their role. Historians have tended to see languages as an ancillary part of diplomatic relations. Discourse analysts in this context have looked at language in general, rather than at foreign languages. Translation specialists have concentrated on the role of the language intermediary, the interpreter or translator, rather than on the language experiences of non-linguist combatants and civilians. This lack of systematic study of language experience in war has encouraged us to focus on the first hand accounts of soldiers and civilians caught up in conflict, and to examine the relationship of these experiences to official foreign language policymaking for war. 'Languages at War' brings together specialists from two universities in an innovative association with the Imperial War Museum, which has an unrivalled coverage of international conflict since 1914, including some 60,000 hours of sound recordings with participants. The lead investigators have an academic background in cultures of war, as well as in the development of foreign language policies, and their universities, Reading and Southampton, provide a supportive interdisciplinary environment for this research, with specialists in European histories and cultures, strategic and military studies, and transnational contacts. The project will examine two related but contrasting case studies, one on invasion/occupation (Europe, 1944-47), and one on peacekeeping (Bosnia, 1995-1998). Both case studies concern twentieth century joint Allied intervention in continental Europe, but are contrasting in two important respects. Firstly, the nature of the command structure is different in each: in the case of Europe in 1944-47, Allied commanders worked together, but operated in separate theatres of war, whereas in Bosnia, troops were deployed in a multilateral integrated command force. Secondly, the missions in the two case studies pose contrasting sorts of language encounter: the first positions troops as invaders and occupiers of hostile territory, the second places them as peacekeepers between blocs of opposing enemies. Archive and publicly available resources will enable us to study the official language policies relating to the two situations, and these will be set against the extensive witness statements of participants which are held in the Imperial War Museum, and which will be supplemented by additional interviews recorded by the project team. We believe that this project will enable us to develop a framework for analysing the role of languages in war which can be transferred to other war and conflict situations. 'Languages at War' aims to ensure that the relevance of foreign languages to war enters into the public arena in a way which is backed up by robust academic research, and which will serve to inform public debate and stimulate the future thinking of all those concerned. Through the active participation of the Imperial War Museum, the project will raise the profile of foreign languages in future Museum displays, exhibitions and programme planning which address the general public. Through the 'Languages at War' Advisory Group, agencies engaged in the training of personnel for international relations and war, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, will have an opportunity to comment, discuss and share results.