The Cunninghame Graham Lecture 2024

This event has was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Embassy of Spain, the Consulate of Spain in Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh. The lecture will be given in Spanish.

La conversación es un tipo de intercambio que resulta crucial para nuestra existencia; constituye la herramienta básica de la cooperación humana ya que las personas construimos nuestras relaciones mediante las conversaciones que mantenemos con los demás.

¿Qué relación existe entre nuestra salud psíquica y física, y la calidad de nuestras conversaciones? ¿Qué sabemos sobre las normas implícitas que rigen la conversación y acerca de los deslumbrantes fenómenos comunicativos que se despliegan en cada interacción cotidiana? ¿Qué importancia tiene la escucha activa en nuestras conversaciones personales y profesionales? ¿Por qué nuestra forma de hablar nos representa? ¿Hombres y mujeres tenemos diferentes estilos comunicativos en el ámbito profesional? ¿Cómo afecta el uso de las nuevas tecnologías en nuestra forma de conversar?

Los estudios de lingüística interdisciplinar están proporcionando información muy relevante sobre estos fascinantes aspectos que surgen en las conversaciones humanas.

Conversation is a type of exchange that is crucial for our existence; it is the fundamental tool of human cooperation, as we build our relationships through the conversations we have with others.

What is the relationship between our mental and physical health and the quality of our conversations? What do we know about the implicit rules that govern conversation and the dazzling communicative phenomena that unfold in everyday interactions? How important is active listening in our personal and professional conversations? Why does the way we speak represent us? Do men and women have different communicative styles in the professional sphere? How does the use of new technologies affect the way we converse?

Interdisciplinary linguistic studies are providing highly relevant insights into these fascinating aspects that emerge in human conversation.

Estrella Montolío Durán is Professor of Spanish Linguistics at Universitat de Barcelona and a communication advisor. She directs the Barcelona Provincial Council Chair for clear communication in public administrations at the University of Barcelona.

One of her main research lines is the study of different communicative phenomena that occur in everyday conversations. She is the author and editor of numerous specialised publications, including, among others, the following books: Comunicación tributaria clara (2024), Cosas que pasan cuando conversamos (2020), El derecho a entender, la comunicación clara la mejor defensa de la ciudadanía (2020); Comunicación igualitaria (Planeta/Caixabank, 2018) and Manual de escritura académica y profesional (2014).

She has been a speaker at nearly a hundred universities in Spain, Europe, and the Americas and has served as the principal investigator on numerous interdisciplinary research projects.

As an advisor, she has collaborated with Spanish institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, the Interministerial Commission for the Modernization of Legal Discourse, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), the General Council of the Judiciary, the Office of the Attorney General, as well as the Electoral Court of Mexico City, the Government of Catalonia, and the city councils of Madrid and Barcelona. She also advises major organisations in the financial, energy, and transport sectors, among others.

She has received several awards and distinctions and collaborates with media outlets such as El País and El Periódico de Cataluña and is also responsible for the Todo es lenguaje segment on the Gente Despierta show on the Spanish National Radio RTVE.

The Cunninghame Graham Lecture was established in 1996 in honour of Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham - aka ‘Don Roberto’ (London, 1852-Buenos Aires, 1936) - politician, estanciero, and writer, who travelled extensively in Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay and had very strong ties to Argentina.

Delivered annually, it is jointly organised by LLC and the Office of Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain with the aim of promoting Spanish language and culture in Scotland.

Past speakers have included scholars, film makers, politicians, journalists, novelists, and figures bridging the Hispanic world and Scotland, such as the architect Enric Miralles (1955-2000) who designed the Scottish Parliament building.

Host or Publisher School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures