Comment: Towards a Portrait of Multilingualism of TokyoJiri V. Neustupný

ASIEN – Nr. 84 (2002) pp. 19–20

I believe that we live in a world of post-modernity, and that this world is governed by two opposing principles. One of them, which revealed itself early, is humanism. The other is rationalism (Neustupný 2000). Humanism has given us the ideology of multilingualism and multiculturalism, while rationalism has contributed skepticism about the multicultural perspective. This world of post-modernity provides the background for discourse about multilingualism in the Tokyo area and its dynamism. It will not last forever, but it will be our world for at least a decade to come.