LINGUIST List 10.505

Wed Apr 7 1999

FYI: Applied Linguistics, Esperanto-speaking tribe

Editor for this issue: Jody Huellmantel <jodylinguistlist.org>

Directory

  • Marina Mattheoudaki, 13th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics
  • renato corsetti, Study the Esperanto-speaking tribe

    Message 1: 13th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

     Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 14:35:26 +0300
    From: Marina Mattheoudaki <marmatenl.auth.gr>
    Subject: 13th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics


    The 13th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics organized by the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece will take place on 22-24 April, 1999. The plenary speakers are Professor Jean Aitchison, University of Oxford and Professor William Hardcastle, Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. There are sixty presentations in total in both Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. The final program is available at: http://www.enl.auth.gr The Proceedings of the Symposium will be available by the end of the year. For further information, contact

    Dr. Katerina Nicolaidis: knicolenl.auth.gr Dr. Marina Mattheoudakis: marmatenl.auth.gr

    Message 2: Study the Esperanto-speaking tribe

     Date: Tue, 06 Apr 1999 22:47:03 +0200
    From: renato corsetti <corsettiitelcad.it>
    Subject: Study the Esperanto-speaking tribe


    Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems in cooperation with Universal Esperanto Association

    Berlin, Germany, 31 July-8 August 1999

    COME AND STUDY THE ESPERANTO-SPEAKING TRIBE

    Linguistics textbooks give all kinds of definitions of Esperanto. But the fact is that members of the linguistic community don't know much about people who speak the language. Can they use Esperanto in everyday situations, quarrel in it, swear in it? Are there any native speakers?

    The Esperanto movement has a language problem of its own: it is difficult for someone who has not studied the language to find out about the Esperanto movement. And yet the Esperanto language, the Esperanto movement and Esperanto speakers present a challenge to many branches of linguistics and the social sciences. There are questions which demand to be answered: who speaks Esperanto? and why? What happens if children learn the language as one of their native tongues? What is the structure of a linguistic community in which native speakers are only a tiny minority?

    The Universal Esperanto Association (UEA) is the largest Esperanto organisation in the world. Its annual congress attracts several thousand participants every year. The programme includes cultural, political and scientific sessions, but most importantly, the annual congress gives Esperantists from around the world the chance to meet.

    This year, UEA has decided to open its conference to scholars who want to learn more about the unique linguistic and sociological structure of the Esperanto movement. This programme is offered in cooperation with the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems, an independent research institute whose activities include editing the journal "Language Problems and Language Planning". We are not aiming to convince linguists to learn Esperanto; our aim is to show that Esperanto is an interesting object of study in its own right.

    The annual meeting of the worldwide Esperanto-speaking tribe, the 84th World Congress of Esperanto, will take place from the 31st of July to the 8th of August in the International Congress Center in Berlin, Germany. You are invited to attend this congress and observe it at leisure; the usual congress fee will be waived for professional linguists, but please let us know in advance if you are planning to attend. You will be free to mingle with the people, interview, record, videotape, or undertake other research activities. We will try to provide interpreters where necessary. If you wish you may also take a course in order to get an understanding of the basic structure of the language.

    The World Congress of Esperanto always includes a series of Esperanto Studies sessions. If you want to give a talk on contact linguistics or international/interethnic language problems, please let us know. You may also be interested in the Nitobe symposium, a two-day symposium, on 2nd-3rd August, on "Globalization and Language Diversity", with several well known speakers, which will focus on language policy and international relations. Again, if you would like to give an oral or written contribution, please inform us. We will get back in touch with you.

    For more information on Esperanto Studies and planned languages, we recommend the following sites:

    http://magi.com/~mfettes/studies.html http://www.snafu.de/~ubecker/gesellsc.htm http://htliu.yeah.net

    You can also receive an overview of Esperanto Studies and Interlinguistics, a bibliography on the subject and a brief description of the structure and organisation of the World Congress.

    For further information, and assistance with accomodation in Berlin, please contact:

    Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems Nieuwe Binnenweg, 176 NL-3015 BJ Rotterdam The Netherlands <ueainter.nl.net>