Stefan Klein on the lack of a democratic scientific language

Biophysicist and author Stefan Klein thinks it's a mistake for German academics to speak only English - and rather poor English at that - even at conferences held in Germany. They should, he believes, try to express themselves clearly and interestingly in their native language. "How do they expect to be understood in a society whose language they don't even share? Soon we may not be able to discuss new research results at all in German because we lack the vocabulary. Society is in danger of splitting into those that use an elite language and those who can't keep up with the latest developments. Whether or not German remains an academic language is not a question of national pride. It's democracy that's at stake here... Science and research is also the story of people who set out to understand the world and improve it. This is why the works of Darwin, Galileo and Einstein are still so fascinating today. Only if we learn how to tell that story again, will German have a future as a language of science."

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