CLOW4: Contested Languages in the Old World Pałac Staszica, Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warszawa Warszawa, Poland, May 23-25, 2024 |
Conference website | https://ispan.waw.pl/default/badania/clow4/ |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=clow4 |
Abstract registration deadline | February 15, 2024 |
Submission deadline | February 15, 2024 |
Contested Languages in the Old World 4
“Contested languages” are languages that are generally listed in international language catalogues and atlases (…) but are not attained any reasonable degree of official political recognition by the state within which they are spoken” (Tamburelli & Tosco, 2021: 3-4).
Contested languages are distinctly apart linguistically from the official languages of the state in which they are spoken (Abstand criterion – a language by distance). Yet, often disregarded due to genealogic proximity with official languages of the nation-state(s) in which they are spoken. They further have a substantial number of speakers of different age groups (although younger speakers tend to be less conversant and prefer the use of the state language), sometimes a distinct literary written tradition, and display some level of standardization and corpus planning (Ausbau criterion – a language by development). Still, these languages are often referred to as “dialects”, “patois” etc. in everyday (and sometimes in academic) discourse. They are not recognized as “languages” in political terms or are referred to as “languages with adjective”: regional, local, ours).
Contested languages may be territorial, used by autochthonous/indigenous people, non-territorial and non-phonic (e.g. sign language as often contested in the European context). We welcome all cases of contested languages within the European continuum.
Aim of the conference
The conference aims to bring together scholars and activists working on the current status and future prospects of contested languages, as well as on issues of corpus, status and planning, and how these impact on the speaker communities themselves and on the academic world. The conference will also serve to discuss different sociolinguistic aspects of contested languages functioning in the modern society: language ideologies, attitudes and practices.
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts for a conference should be around 300 words long. All abstracts will undergo anonymous review. Important dates:
Abstract Submission Closes: January 31, 2024
Acceptance Notification: February 9, 2024
Registration Opens: February 26, 2024
Registration Closes: April 1, 2024
Conference Dates: 24-25 May, 2024
At least one author of each accepted paper or poster must register for the conference.
The conference will be accompanied by a one-day workshop, designed particularly (but not exclusively) for PhD students and early career researchers. The workshop will serve to better understand the concept of "contested languages" as well as the differences and similarities between contested languages and other forms of languages monitorization or endangerment. Examples of topics covered at the workshop include:
- Contested languages, endangered languages, collateral languages, regional, minority, minoritized and heritage languages. What does it all mean?
- Contested languages and linguistic rights: is language contestation a matter of human rights?
- The dynamics of language contestation: how does it happen, who does it serve, and why should we care?
- The cost of language contestation: what are the consequences of contestation? Who does it affect, and how?
Planning for the future vitality and maintenance of contested languages: how do we identify language contestation, and can it be reversed?
Application for the workshop should concern a short (1 page maximum) CV of a participant with the title and a short description of a PhD thesis (for PhD students) and main area of interests for all others.
List of Topics
We welcome submission of abstracts for oral presentations (20 mins + 10 mins questions) and poster sessions on, but not limited to, the following topics:contested languages case studies of status, corpus and acquisition planning of any contested language in Europe;
- comparison of the language policy and planning situations between two or more contested languages in Europe;
- speakers’ attitudes towards specific contested languages in Europe, with a special attention to the theory and practice of “new speakers”;
- relationship between language's collaterality and contestedness;
- issues of Abstand and Ausbau relating to one or more contested language(s) of Europe;
- perception of contested languages by their speakers and legislators;
- government attitudes towards specific contested languages in Europe, with special attention to the distance between the overt policy and planning and the “hidden agendas”;
- the impact of local legislation and/or local initiatives on the status and attitudes of contested languages in Europe, in their immediate visibility as well as the long-term goal, i.e. guaranteeing their intergenerational transmission;
- contested languages vitality and ethnolinguistic vitality of their communities.
Plenary Speakers
- Dr. Astrid Adler (Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, Germany)
- Dr hab. Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, prof. UAM (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland)
Venue
Staszic Palace, Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warszawa (Warsaw, Poland)
Contact
Secretary of the conference: dr Maciej Mętrak (maciej.metrak@ispan.edu.pl)
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1313592092596544
Financial support
The conference is financially supported by the Polish Ministry of Education and Science (Doskonała Nauka II - wsparcie konferencji naukowych, KONF/SP/0219/2023/01)