LINGUIST List 13.321

Tue Feb 5 2002

Calls: 'Doubtful Correctness', Germanic Syntax

Editor for this issue: Renee Galvis <reneelinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Elke Hentschel, Call for papers
2. Johannes Gisli Jonsson, 17th Comparative Germanic Syntax Workshop (CGSW 17)

CALL FOR PAPERS

Doubtful correctness.
Empirical and theoretical aspects of correctness decisions.

Doubts about linguictic correctness occur on all levels of language.
They occur because native as well as non-native, young as well as
adult speakers sometimes find themselves in situations where they feel
insecure about the correct way to say or spell something. From a
traditional point of view, doubtful correctness belongs to the
twilight zone between grammatical and non-grammatical utterances.
Doubtful cases of linguistic correctness strongly influence public as
well as individual linguistic awareness. Although such cases have been
discussed again and again in popular books or newspaper articles, they
have only gained marginal interest on the part of linguistics. In
particular, there is no advanced research treating doubtful
correctness as such, considering the subject as a possibly homogenous
area within a given language. In view of the importance of doubtful
correctness cases for speakers' linguistic awareness, the amount of
elaborated linguistic research dealing with the subject is very
small. However, this issue of LINGUISTIK ONLINE will try to make
amends by treating them in detail. Approaches may be theoretical or
empirical, and they are welcome to take into account - and perhaps
even try to improve - the often rather complicated relationship
between public linguistic awareness and linguistics. There is
therefore a broad range of possible topics:

* How can one identify cases of doubtful correctness in a
methodologically satisfying way?
* Why does doubtful correctness exist at all?
* How can the relation between correctness problems and various other
levels of language description like orthography, phonetics,
morphology, syntax, semantics, or pragmatics be described?
* Are there typical stumbling blocks turning the choice of the correct
form into a problem ?
* Are there new or actual problems of this kind in contrast to older
ones, which have been solved? Are there any historical examples, maybe
even in dead languages? How do such problems arise, i.e. how do they
present themselves in a diachronic view?
* Have problematic cases of linguistic correctness been treated in the
traditional linguistics of a given language? Are there any
contemporary linguistic texts dealing with them?
* In some countries, there are institutions and publications giving
advice in language use (like the Academie francaise in France or, to
some extent, the Institut fer deutsche Sprache in Germany). How should
they treat such cases?

If you are interested in submitting a paper, please contact the editor
of this issue as soon as possible. An abstract of the projected paper
might help in estimating the possibilities of publishing.

Papers should be submitted until September, 1st 2002. Each
contribution will be evaluated by two experts; authors and reviewers
will remain mutually anonymous.

Editor of this issue:

Wolf Peter Klein
kleinwolfpeterweb.de


German version:

Der sprachliche Zweifelsfall. Theorie und Empirie Sprachliche
Zweifelsfaelle lassen sich auf allen Systemebenen der Sprache
identifizieren. Ihre Existenz resultiert aus der Tatsache, dass auch
kompetente Sprecher immer wieder in Kommunikationssituationen geraten,
in denen sie nach eigener Einschaetzung nicht genau wissen, wie eine
sprachliche Formulierung lauten muss, um als korrekt zu gelten.
Traditionell gesprochen stehen die sprachlichen Zweifelsfaelle also
zwischen den grammatischen und den ungrammatischen Faellen. Fuer das
oeffentliche Sprachbewusstsein und das Sprachbewusstsein der Sprecher
sind Zweifelsfaelle von erheblicher Bedeutung; dem korrespondiert auf
der Seite der Linguistik bisher kaum eine entsprechende
Aufmerksamkeit: Waehrend die Zweifelsfaelle in der natuerlichen
Kommunikation haeufig und in der populaerwissenschaftlichen
Ratgeberliteratur ausfuehrlich thematisiert werden, wurden sie in der
bisherigen sprachwissenschaftlichen Forschung eher als Randphaenomene
behandelt. Insbesondere liegen noch keine Arbeiten vor, die die
sprachlichen Zweifelsfaelle als solche und insofern als einheitlichen
Phaenomenbereich eroertern. Im Spannungsfeld zwischen der grossen
oeffentlichen Aufmerksamkeit und der wenig ausgebauten linguistischen
Forschung soll der sprachliche Zweifelsfall im geplanten Themenband
von Linguistik online theoretisch eingehender reflektiert und
empirisch genauer ausgelotet werden. Dies kann auch als Versuch
verstanden werden, das heikle Verhaeltnis zwischen oeffentlicher
Sprachreflexion und Linguistik zu ueberdenken und moeglicherweise
Ansaetze zu seiner Verbesserung zu entwickeln. Im einzelnen sind
Beitraege zu folgenden Fragestellungen denkbar: - Mit welchen Methoden
koennen Zweifelsfaelle empirisch zufriedenstellend identifiziert
werden? - Wie laesst sich die Existenz der Zweifelsfaelle erklaeren?
- Was laesst sich ueber die Zweifelsfaelle im Blick auf ihre Zuordnung
zu den sprachlichen Systemebenen (Orthographie, Phonetik, Morphologie,
Syntax, Semantik, Pragmatik) feststellen? - Welche Zweifelsfaelle
gibt es in den gegenwaertigen Sprachen? Welche Zweifelsfaelle gab es
in vergangenen Sprachstufen? Welche Entwicklungsrichtungen von
sprachlichen Zweifelsfaellen lassen sich identifizieren? - Wie wurden
die Zweifelsfaelle in der linguistischen Tradition und wie werden sie
in den verschiedenen Sprachtheorien der Gegenwart behandelt? - Auf
welche Art und Weise sollten Institutionen und Publikationen mit
sprachberatendem Charakter die Zweifelsfaelle thematisieren?

Kontakt:
Wolf Peter Klein
kleinwolfpeterweb.de

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS
17th Comparative Germanic Syntax Workshop (CGSW 17)

August 9-10, 2002
The University of Iceland, Reykjavik

INVITED SPEAKERS:

Luigi Rizzi, University of Siena
Hubert Haider, University of Salzburg

We invite abstracts for forty-minute talks (30 minutes plus 10 minutes
discussion) on any aspect of comparative Germanic syntax including the
interface between syntax and other components of the grammar.

GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACTS: 
Abstracts should not exceed one page (letter-size or A4), with
one-inch (2,5 cm) margin and typed in at least 11-point font. A
second page is permitted for data and references only.

We strongly encourage electronic submissions. Send your name, academic
affiliation, e-mail address, mailing address, and title of the paper
in the body of the message. The anonymous abstract should be sent as
an attachment in one of the following formats: pdf, rtf, postscript,
Microsoft Word, or ASCII plain text. For any unusual fonts, please
attach the font file.

Postal submissions must include 5 copies of an anonymous abstract and
a separate sheet including the author, title and contact information
as above.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS:
 March 10, 2002

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE:
 May 1, 2002

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS:
 jjhi.is

POSTAL SUBMISSION:
 CGSW 17 Committee, c/o Sigridur Sigurjonsdottir
 Department of Icelandic
 University of Iceland
 Arnagardi v. Sudurgotu
 101 Reykjavik
 ICELAND

Receipt of electronic submissions will be confirmed by e-mail by March
12th. If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation, please contact the
organizers.

For more information please send e-mail to siggasighi.is or
jgjonssoncentrum.is or visit our website:

http://www.ismal.hi.is/imf/cgsw17/

*****

Sigridur Sigurjonsdottir Johannes Gisli Jonsson
Department of Icelandic Department of Icelandic
University of Iceland University of Iceland
Arnagardi v. Sudurgotu Arnagardi v. Sudurgotu
101 Reykjavik 101 Reykjavik
ICELAND ICELAND

Phone: 00-354-525-4028 	 Phone 00-354-525-4404
Fax: 00-354-525-4242 Fax: 00-354-525-4242