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durham.ac.uk>************************************************************* The Third Durham Postgraduate Conference in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics ************************************************************* 10 June, 2000 Department of Linguistics and English Language University of Durham CALL FOR PAPERS**CALL FOR PAPERS**CALL FOR PAPERS**CALL FOR PAPERS We are pleased to announce the Third Durham Postgraduate Conference in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the University of Durham on Saturday 10th June 2000. The purpose of the conference is to provide postgraduates with an opportunity to present their research. Accepted papers will be allotted 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion. Deadline for abstracts: 14th April, 2000 Notification of acceptance: 5th May, 2000 Conference date: 10th June, 2000 Abstract guidelines: Send 4 camera-ready copies of your abstract (3 without and one with your name and affiliation). Length: maximum one A4 page; 1.5 spacing; all margins: 3cm. Font: Times New Roman 12pt. Title, author's name, affiliation: 14pt bold and centered. Paper submissions preferred, e-mail submissions accepted (only as attached file as a Word document). Address abstracts to: Karima Soutsane (karima.soutsaneMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue
cnu.edu>SECOND CALL: "The Nature of Language" DEADLINE: TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2000 TOPIC: WHAT EVERY EDUCATED PERSON SHOULD KNOW ABOUT LANGUAGE, AND WHY? CONTEXT: Information/abstract gathering query from the LSA Undergraduate Program Advisory Committee which is proposing this topic as a symposium for the 2001 Annual Meeting. BACKGROUND: Despite the results of more than half a century of paradigm-changing work, the American public remains fundamentally uninformed about the nature of language. Linguistics, the field which has contributed the most to what we know, has reached a somewhat limited audience through graduate programs, undergraduate majors and Introductions to Language and Linguistics. And yet, despite this linguistic presence at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels, the insights from linguistics regarding the nature of language barely make the light of pedagogical day when it comes to reaching not only students and teachers in the public schools, but also the broader American public. If public misconceptions about the nature of language as evidenced in the Oakland Ebonics furor or in ongoing public machinations about "proper grammar" and "slovenly grammar" are any indication, our efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels aren't getting the word out. While authors such as Pinker, Tannen, McWhorter, Smitherman, Trudgill, and Wardhaugh write compellingly and comprehensibly for a broader lay audience (not to mention Baugh, Fillmore, Labov, Nunberg, Rickford, Shuy, Wolfram, etc., who connect to the press) surely, we linguists need to recraft and perhaps reconceive our message so to get our insights out more broadly. QUERY, CALL: In this context, I am calling for response to the question, "what should every educated person know about language and why." That is, what are the ***core insights of our field regarding the nature of language***, insights which capture the fundaments of language? Will these insights help unbind the dogged misconceptions that beleaguer our students and populace when it comes to language? IMMEDIATE PURPOSE: My purpose is to assemble a panel of discussants on this topic under the aegis of the LSA's Undergraduate Program Advisory Committee for next year's annual meeting. LONG-TERM PURPOSE/APPLICATION: Such insights would ultimately coalesce into educational materials (courses and workshops), adaptable to all levels of education -- primary, secondary, high school, college, and graduate teacher education. These educational materials might or might not be distinct in content from current college level offerings in Language Awareness and Introductions to Language. The point is to rethink and hone what fundamentals about language we want to put out into the broader world. DEADLINE: Please submit your descriptions/abstracts/comments in email form (length no longer than 1000 words) and in hard copy, to me by TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2000. Hard copy address is Rebecca S. Wheeler Assistant Professor Department of English 1 University Place Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA 23606-2998 (rwheelerMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue