Czech Society for History of Science and Technology (SDVT) and
Czech Mathematical Union (JČMF)
cordially invite you to an interdisciplinary workshop
Mathematics and Language
A historical Perspective
Call for contributed papers
Dates: Thursday 12 June 2025 (sessions during the day and social dinner)
Friday 13 June 2025
Venue: Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Poříčí 538/31, Brno CZ, room 37
With its variety of symbolism and specific terminology in its various branches, mathematicians seem to
speak different languages. That mathematics in itself is a language is generally accepted, since it has
been viewed as the language of nature since the early modern period. Closer to our days, it was a
mathematical language that underlined the development of programming languages. Mathematics
teaching in the late twentieth century even had the function of teaching proper ways of expressing
one’s ideas; and the linguistic metaphors go even further: in order to use (apply) mathematics, we may
speak of translating the real-life problem into mathematics and after tackling the problem
mathematically, we interpret the results. There are many intrinsic connections between mathematics
and language, but they form but one link between the two.
In different cultures, from Ancient to Modern times, mathematics was done differently. Studying
mathematical practices in the different cultures has long been a topic that inspired philosophers and
historians of mathematics. Studying the different practices leads to erosion of the belief that
mathematics is universal. Mathematics is done by people who have their specific background,
purposes, and ways of expressing themselves. Opening the field of mathematical practice and studying
mathematical culture in different land and in different languages is a playground for historians of
mathematics: mathematics is local and mathematical results relevant for the particular period of time.
An intriguing connection between mathematics and language arises with the issue of translation and
speaking other languages. The language of communication became an issue in the context of
internationalism around 1900. Keen to communicate with their colleagues from other countries
directly, mathematicians developed symbolic languages, discarding the use of ordinary language in
mathematics. At the same period of time, many mathematicians became interested in a language that
would be easy to learn, even though it would be a foreign language for everybody. Esperanto was
embraced by several mathematicians of the time.
While in the nineteenth century, practising mathematics in a certain language was an issue connected
with national revival, stemming from romanticism, in the twentieth century, the language in which
mathematics was written also revealed political choices. The number and choice of official languages
at an international congress depended also on the countries allowed to participate in the congresses.
There are many other issues that connect the two areas, mathematics and language, in the methods of
study, in mutual interactions between mathematics and linguistics, including the problem of translation
and transcription of Ancient mathematics and the meta-debates involved in that issue as well as
practical considerations of translation. The two-day workshop seeks to bring together scholars who
would like to present their work in this perspective.
Invited speakers:
Frédéric Metin (CNRS and INSPÉ Bourgogne, France)
Elías Fuentes Guillén (CAS Prague, Czechia)
We invite scholars to send abstracts of their proposed talks (between 200 and 500 words) to
aGR1cm5vdmEgfCBwZWQgISBtdW5pICEgY3o= by Thursday 1 May 2025. Notification of acceptance by 10 May 2025.
Topics include, but are not limited to the history of:
o Mathematics as language.
o Mathematics practised in different languages.
o Geometry in Engineering, Nomography and other outdated disciplines ,
o Translating mathematics.
Selected papers may be published in a special issue of the journal History of Sciences and Technology
https://dvt-journal.cz/en/ (ISSN 0300-4414 print, 2788-3485 online).
Conference fee: EUR 30 or CZK 600, payable on site or through bank transfer.
Contact e-mail:
aGR1cm5vdmEgfCBwZWQgISBtdW5pICEgY3o=
Looking forward to seeing you in Brno!
Helena Durnová (Brno) & Jan Kotůlek (Ostrava)
This workshop is a part of the series Mathematics and Society,
https://math-and-society.webnode.page/
Also check out other Workshops in Brno.
