LINGUIST List 15.741

Mon Mar 1 2004

Calls: Applied Ling/Netherlands; General Ling/USA

Editor for this issue: Andrea Berez <andrealinguistlist.org>

As a matter of policy, LINGUIST discourages the use of abbreviations or acronyms in conference announcements unless they are explained in the text.

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.html.

Directory

  • ms.schmid, 2nd International Conference on First Language Attrition
  • objork, South Central Modern Language Association Convention

    Message 1: 2nd International Conference on First Language Attrition

     Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 06:08:20 -0500 (EST)
    From: ms.schmid <ms.schmidlet.vu.nl>
    Subject: 2nd International Conference on First Language Attrition


    2nd International Conference on First Language Attrition Short Title: 2nd ICFLA

    Date: 17-Aug-2005 - 20-Aug-2005 Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands Contact: Monika S. Schmid Contact Email: ICFLA2005let.vu.nl

    Linguistic Sub-field: Applied Linguistics

    Call Deadline: 30-Nov-2004

    Meeting Description:

    The 2nd ICFLA will focus on the role of theoretical models for the study of language attrition. 2nd ICFLA

    International Conference on First Language Attrition

    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 17-20 August 2005

    Organizers:

    Monika S. Schmid Dept. of English Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ms.schmidlet.vu.nl

    Barbara Köpke Laboratoire de Neuropsycholinguistique ''Jacques Lordat'' EA 1941 Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail bkopkemail.univ-tlse2.fr

    Keynote Speakers (in alphabetical order):

    Vivian Cook (University of Essex, UK) François Grosjean (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) Kenneth Hyltenstam (Stockholm University, Sweden) Pekka Hirvonen (Joensuu University, Finland) Carol Myers-Scotton (University of Southern Carolina, USA) Christophe Pallier (Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit INSERM U562, Paris, France) Michel Paradis (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) Antonella Sorace (University of Edinburgh, UK)

    Important dates

    First Call for Papers: February 2004 Second Call for Papers: August 2004 Deadline for abstracts: 30th November 2004 Notification of acceptance: 31st January 2005 Preregistration : 1st May 2005

    Abstracts for 20 minute paper presentations or posters, maximum 300 words (excluding references) should be send to ICFLA2005let.vu.nl. Please indicate if you have a preference for a paper or poster.

    Outline of topic:

    Attrition can be defined as the non pathological loss of a language in bilingual speakers. As such, it can be seen as a subfield of language contact, but it should be distinguished from other contact phenomena such as language change, shift, loss and death in bilingual communities. Language change, shift and death typically take place in bilingual communities across generations, whereas the term "attrition" is used to refer to individual language loss and consequently takes place within one generation. Furthermore, "attrition" can be defined as loss of the structural aspects of language, i.e. change or reduction in form, whilst "shift" is a loss of functional aspects, i.e. the gradual replacement of one language by another with respect to language use. It is this focus on structural aspects in individual language loss that makes the attrition field so promising for multidisciplinary approaches: linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and even neurolinguistics (see Köpke & Schmid, forthc.). Over the past decades, great progress has been made in the area of theoretical interpretation and evaluation of the phenomena witnessed in language attrition. The frameworks and models which have been applied to research on attrition have become more sophisticated, reflecting the relatively greater wealth of researcher's experiences. This fine-tuning of how research questions are asked has, in many instances, led to a more and more microlinguistic approach which has made it possible to answer (albeit tentatively) some very specific questions. The more general ones, however, remain unanswered. This problem is compounded by the fact that the majority of attrition studies appear to fall into one of two categories. The first category comprises those investigations which inductively proceed from a clearly defined theoretical framework, such as GB, minimalism, the Abstract Level model etc., setting out to investigate one or more predictions made by this theory in respect to language attrition. These studies usually have a local, microlinguistic focus, investigating one or two linguistic features, usually on no more than one linguistic level (e.g. morphology). Sometimes, but by no means always, they also investigate a small number of informants. They typically elicit their data with one or two well-considered tests, such as a grammaticality or truth value judgment. In the second category are those studies that have chosen a deductive approach. Such studies typically use a broader range of elicitation techniques, since an approach that does not depart from a clearly specified and theoretically informed hypothesis but from an observation of data obviously has to cast its net much wider. In these cases, the researcher attempts to approach the data with an open mind, investigating every potentially interesting phenomenon and drawing conclusions from this. What is, as yet, lacking are studies that attempt to amalgamate both approaches, combining data that have been elicited with a wide range of methods and investigated from all possible angles with a theoretically rigid framework. Ideally, such an approach would furthermore cover a wide range of languages and a large number of informants. Obviously, this is not a task that can be achieved by one researcher. But it is the necessary next step if real progress is to be made in language attrition research �Euro" that is, progress on more fundamental and global issues. In the light of these considerations, it seems crucial that we now turn ourselves to the task of building a broader base on which language attrition research can be conducted.

    Reference:

    Köpke, Barbara/Monika S. Schmid. forthc."Language attrition: the next phase", to appear in: Monika S. Schmid/Barbara Köpke/Merel Keijzer/Lina Weilemar (eds.) First Language Attrition: Interdisciplinary perspectives on methodological issues. Proceedings of the first International Conference on First Language Attrition, Amsterdam, Aug. 2002. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

    Abstract submissions are encouraged in the following domains of L1 attrition research:

    *methodological aspects of L1 attrition research *linguistic features involved *testing methodology subject characteristics

    *theoretical approaches to L1 attrition: *linguistic perspectives, in particular: *the role of typological distance/closeness of the languages in interaction *the validity of theoretical frameworks to account for phenomena witnessed in attrition *socio / ethnolinguistic perspectives, in particular: *the role, nature, and quality of contact with the L1 *attitudinal factors within and across linguistic communities *psycho / neurolinguistic perspectives, considering in particular: *the effect of age at the onset of attrition and its possible interaction with literacy *the role of processing constraints in attrition *the relationship between declarative / procedural memory and L1 attrition *ERP / brain imaging studies of attrition

    *comparative approaches to L1 attrition, i.e. studies focussing on parallels between L1 attrition and *L2 attrition *L2 learning *normal aging *pathology *language change

    *attrition in specific populations *"late" attrition in early bilinguals *sign language attrition

    Message 2: South Central Modern Language Association Convention

     Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 20:31:58 -0500 (EST)
    From: objork <objorkmail.utexas.edu>
    Subject: South Central Modern Language Association Convention


    South Central Modern Language Association Convention Short Title: SCMLA Convention

    Date: 28-Oct-2004 - 30-Oct-2004 Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America Contact: Ede Hilton Contact Email: scmlaenglish.tamu.edu Meeting URL: http://www-english.tamu.edu/scmla/NewOrleansConvInfo.html

    Linguistic Sub-field: General Linguistics

    Call Deadline: 15-Mar-2004

    Meeting Description:

    New Orleans is the site for SCMLA's 61st Annual meeting. Inspired by the rich and mingled influences that mark this unique city's food, music, arts, and ethnic tapestry, our conference theme is ''Cultural Confluences.''

    Call for Papers

    South Central American Dialect Society (Allied Session) South Central MLA, New Orleans, LA, October 28-30, 2004 Conference Theme: ''Cultural Confluences''

    Panel Theme: ''Open Topic''

    Papers or 500-word abstracts on ''dialects,'' widely construed. Possible topics might include:

    * dialects of new media (email, chat, etc.) * Creole and creolization * ''pidgin'' dialects * ''Spanglish'' or other hybrid dialects * dialect versus language * technology-related jargon * argots of the work place * gender, class, or race based dialects * dialects in language pedagogy * preservation of dialects * popular culture and slang dialects * other dialect forms (visual, musical, architectural, etc.)

    Please send abstracts or papers electronically (either in email body or as an attachment with extension .doc, .rtf, .txt, or .pdf) to session chair Olin Bjork at objorkmail.utexas.edu no later than March 15, 2004. Presenters must be members of SCMLA by May 15, 2004.

    - Olin Bjork Assistant Director Computer Writing and Research Lab Division of Rhetoric and Composition University of Texas at Austin