The "function" and "notion" of literacy may be considered the keystone,
a "filigree" principle underlying the educational, social, and cultural
organiza- tion of the societies of the twentieth century. It is
therefore interesting to try to pinpoint the notion and its implications
at the tum of the century by focusing the attention of scholars from
various disciplines-sociolinguistics, psychology, psycholinguistics, and
pedagogy-on the subject. This is the purpose of this volume, which
originated from an inter- disciplinary meeting on trends in and problems
of research on early literacy through mother tongues and/or second
languages, held in Venice under the auspices of the University of
Venice, and in particular of the Seminario di Linguistica e di Didattica
della Lingue and the Centro Linguistico Interfacolta, and the
Municipality of Venice, together with UNESCO and AILA. A first
far-reaching question touches on the role assigned to or fulfilled by
mass "literacy" in modem society. The concept of literacy considered as
a social achievement, an essential component in the process of education
to be institutionally prompted and controlled, fluctuates between two
opposite poles. A polemic-destructive view considers the notion and the
educational "prac- tices" connected with it as a potent instrument of
social control, a tool for social reproduction and consensus. On the
other side, a plurifunctional con- structive view considers the
acquisition and maintenance of different languages via educational
institutions as a concrete possibility for the defense and main- tenance
of cultural pluralism and identity, be it social, ethnic, or religious.
