It’s never been easier to misunderstand one another, even though apps now translate in real time and keep conversations flowing, word for word. We live in an age in which artificial intelligence drills vocabulary, internalizes grammar rules, and translates sentences from one language into another in fractions of a second, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And perhaps it soon will be. But language is more than the exchange of information. It’s gestures, hesitation, a wrong word that somehow still makes sense. It’s laughing at your own accent, searching for words, and the quiet understanding that, despite all this, or perhaps because of it, you still have something to say to one another. Because what does it really mean to understand someone? That is a question no app can answer. It’s something we have to talk about together, and we can at the Goethe-Institut’s anniversary celebration on Saturday (20.06.2026).
Many people know the Goethe-Institut as a first point of contact for learning German, whether in Germany or abroad. For 75 years, the institute has been building bridges between languages, people, and cultures. Today, the Berlin branch in Mitte is more than a language school. It’s a place that engages with social debates and takes encounters seriously. This Saturday, the team is opening its doors for a festival under the motto “We Celebrate Language!” The festival celebrates multilingualism, stories of migration, and cultural diversity, not as buzzwords, but as topics for conversation in workshops, panel discussions, and theater formats. Among those taking part in the discussions are writers Yōko Tawada and Olga Grjasnowa, the latter known for her wonderful novel “Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt” (All Russians Love Birch Trees). And artificial intelligence is part of the program, too. The team will show what language learning can look like today with AI and VR experiences. Snacks will be provided by Narenj Persian Street Food, Cuore di Vetro, and Kroque Berlin.
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Bernd Schönberger
Goethe-Institut Berlin, Neue Schönhauser Str. 20, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
“Wir feiern Sprache!”, 27.06.2026 13–21h, admission is free.
@goetheinstitut
