Christine Fourcaud

Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Linguistique, Langue, Parole (LiLPa, UR 1339), France

[email protected]

 

Existing as a speaking subject in the hypermodernity

In hypermodernity, the systematic transformation of temporal structures, the endogenous logic of growth and dynamism, and digital interactions are creating a new mode of being-in-the-world, and reshaping the connection between the speaking subject and their subjectivity. The analysis then focuses on the following themes: (digital) de-subjectification, symbolic violence and semiocapitalism; the denial of otherness and the ethics of the speaking subject. De-subjectification has both an existential and a politico-ethical dimension. In a digital ecosystem, discursive subjectivities are subject to algorithmic intelligence, which results in their formatting and reduction to the status of commodities. This is related to two concepts: the de- territorialisation of flows (Deleuze and Guattari) and semiocapitalism (Berardi). Besides, hypermodernity is characterised by a profound denial of otherness and the confrontational engagement with the Other, while disembodied communication fosters violence. A constructive definition of hypermodernity should emphasise an openness to otherness for the speaking subject, thus preventing the modern from falling back on a world dominated by standardising technical management which would reduce language to a mere tool and the speaking subject to “a [semiocapitalist] atom in a mute and hostile world” (Rosa 2021). Thus, the challenge for language policies in Europe (and multilingualism) is to re-establish “axes of resonance” between the speaking subject (the being) and the world.

Key words: logos; otherness and ethics of the speaking subject; (digital) de- subjectification; symbolic violence; semiocapitalism; plurilingualism