RESOLUTION OF THE XVII CONGRESS OF EURALEX

We, participants at the 2016 Congress of the European Association for Lexicography (EURALEX), call upon UNESCO, national governments throughout the world, research funding agencies, and universities to recognize the central role of words in language and culture. We call upon these institutions to take more effective action to promote and recognize the study of words, word use, terminology, phraseology, and cultural phenomena expressed through words, all of which are or can be presented in dictionaries.

We also call upon these institutions to respect the 1975 Helsinki Agreement, whose participating States expressed their intention ”to encourage co-operation among experts in the field of lexicography with the aim of defining the necessary terminological equivalents, particularly in the scientific and technical disciplines, in order to facilitate relations among scientific institutions and specialists”.

The growth of the Internet in recent decades has provided unprecedented opportunities for the objective study of and research into language and meaning. Our multilingual world needs novel types of dictionaries, which requires proper recognition and support.

Decided on by the EURALEX General Assembly, 9th September 2016

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In the discussion leading to the adoption of the Resolution, the following two position papers were included:

◊ Appeal of the Lexicographic Centre at Tbilisi State University
◊ Patrick Hanks: Position paper for Tbilisi Round Table