LINGUIST List 7.820

Tue Jun 4 1996

Confs: Asian Conferences

Editor for this issue: T. Daniel Seely <dseelyemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Maureen Leslie, Asian Conferences

A call for papers and an invitation to participate in an
international conference on ENGLISH AS AN ASIAN LANGUAGE.

The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, publishers of the Macquarie Dictionary,
is planning to undertake a series of conferences throughout
South-East Asia.

CONFERENCE PERSPECTIVE

The conferences have the general title ENGLISH IS AN ASIAN LANGUAGE,
a statement which is then discussed in the context of each country.

THE CONFERENCE

It is our aim to:

* assess the role that English is already playing and may play
 in the future in the government, economics, trade and education
 in South-East Asia

* analyse what impact the new Englishes of the region might have in
 reflecting the culture of these language communities

* assess the requirements for an English-language dictionary for
 this region.

DEFINING TERMS

1. NATIONAL VARIETIES OF ENGLISH

2. ACROLECT AND BASILECT

3. STANDARD

AUSTRALIA AND ASIA - LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Over the past 14 years, the Macquarie Dictionary has played an
important role in gaining recognition for Australian English as an
authentic variety of world English, and in having this variety seen as
a central component of our national identity.

In their different forms in the different countries of Asia, Asian
`Englishes' have absorbed and now reflect in significant ways the
various social influences of their surrounding cultures in the same
way that Australian English absorbs and reflects our own culture.

We believe, therefore, that within Asia there is an opportunity for
Macquarie to play a role in documenting the `Englishes' of Asia
as a local reference of English usage.

THE CONFERENCE

Topics to be covered in relation to the English of each country:

* History
* Pronunciation
* Lexical items
* Standardness, particularly in the areas of newspaper publishing,
 book publishing and education, with comments on the relative
 importance of standards derived from within the country and those
 derived externally
* Business English
* English as influencing and influenced by local culture
* The literature on the subject

THE MACQUARIE LIBRARY PTY LTD AND THE CORPUS OF ENGLISH IN ASIA
(ASIACORP)

The staff of the Macquarie Dictionary now have over 25 years of
lexicographical experience. Macquarie is actively involved in
discussions of language and usage matters at such forums as
Style Council, an annual conference in Australia for people
interested in all aspects of writing. This program of public dis-
cussion initiated by Macquarie is one of the marks of its developing
skill in the documentation of a variety of English.

Macquarie's interest in English in Asia has led it to establish the
first corpus of English in Asia, that is, a growing computer-store
collection of writings in Asian Englishes, which will provide basic
hard data for Macquarie's program of definition writing.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

The keynote speaker for the conferences is Professor Braj B Kachru
speaking on the theme of English is an Asian language. Prof. Kachru
is one of the foremost scholars in the field of world Englishes; he
has pioneered, shaped, and defined this field of scholarly inquiry.
His research on world Englishes, the Kashmiri language and
literature, and theoretical and applied studies on language and
society has resulted in more than 20 authored and edited volumes and
more than 100 research papers, review articles, and reviews. He is
a founder and coeditor of World Englishes and series editor of
`English in the Global Context.' He has held editorial positions
in more than a dozen scholarly journals and is associate editor
of the `Oxford Companion to the English Language' and a contributor
to the `Cambridge History of the English Language'. His many graduate
students, now teaching in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United
States, have made recognised contributions to various areas of
sociolinguistic research.

The conference is sponsored by The Macquarie Pty Ltd, publisher
of the Macquarie Dictionary - the first comprehensive documentation
of Australian English. Ms Susan Butler is a member of the
Editorial Committee. Her current interests are in developing
alongside a corpus of Australian English, a corpus of English in
Asia.

email: suedict.mq.edu.au
Postal address:
Macquarie Dictionary
Macquarie University, NSW 2109
Australia

TENTATIVE CONFERENCE PROGRAMS

CONFERENCE ON PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
Manila, Friday 2 August and Saturday 3 August 1996

Host institution: De La Salle University

Conference organiser: Dr Maria Lourdes (Tish) Bautista,
email: CLALSBmail.dlsu.edu.ph
Postal address:
De La Salle University
PO Box 3819
Manila, Philippines

CONFERENCE ON THAI ENGLISH
Bangkok, Thursday 8 August and Friday 9 August 1996

Host institution: Language Center, National Institute of Development
Administration (NIDA)

Conference organiser: Associate Professor Dr Tuanchai Tan-ngarmtrong
email: tuanchaias.nida.ac.th
Postal address:
Language Center
NIDA
Klong-jan
Bangkok, 10240 Thailand

If you are interested in participating in either of these conferences,
please contact the Conference Organiser at the host institution.