[Corpora-List] Conference announcement and Call for papers

[Marina Bondi]

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici sulla Testualità e la Traduzione

Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca - CLAVIER

Corpus Linguistics and Language Variation

Modena, 5-7 November 2009




Call for Papers






Corpora – principled collections of data in electronic format – have emerged
over the last decades as a powerful analytical tool both in applied and
theoretical linguistics. They have turned out of particularly significant
importance in studies on language variation and language varieties. Indeed,
the wealth and amount of data  made available through corpus compilation and
query tools  have increasingly enabled researchers to explore differences
across spoken and written discourse, social, diachronic and geographic
varieties, age groups, gender, idiolects, etc.  The widening of studies on
language variation and language varieties, however, still calls for
discussion on significant methodological issues, which pose, among others,
the following questions: What are the major methodological problems in the
research field? What is the role of the comparative perspective? Which tools
and methodology best suit research?

The conference intends to focus on such issues in order to provide a better
definition of the concepts under investigation and bring together
significant and innovative contributions in what is now understood as a
widely researched area, thus presenting new tools and perspectives to be
investigated.  This is also the main general objective of the CLAVIER
research group (Corpus and Language Variation Research Group), a research
centre recently founded by the Universities of Bergamo, Firenze, Modena and
Reggio Emilia, Roma “La Sapienza”, and Siena, and currently based in Modena.
The point of departure is the invaluable contribution of two complementary
strands of linguistic investigation - corpus analysis and discourse
analysis – to research on language variation in English, both in
quantitative and qualitative terms.

One of the purposes of the 2009 CLAVIER conference is to reinforce national
and international cooperation with scholars and research centres that can
widen and complement the interest in language variation currently driving
research at the centre.


Plenaries

Udo Fries (University of Zürich)
Anna Mauranen (University of Helsinki)
Josef Schmied (University of Chemnitz)
Geoffrey Williams (University of Bretagne-Sud)


We would like to bring together different perspectives on  language
variation and use. Plenaries and papers will aim at giving a special insight
into the following topics:

a.	using historical corpora to investigate diachronic language variation
b.	using corpora as an innovative tool in exploring geographic varieties
c.	corpus linguistics  in the investigation of non-native language use in
professional settings
d.	corpus linguistics tools, special languages, and specialist lexicography.

Contributions concerning other topics will also be accepted on condition
that they are relevant to the special theme of the Conference.

The conference will start early in the afternoon on the first day and close
around lunchtime on the third day. It will be immediately  preceded by a
pre-conference workshop on specialist lexicography organized by the Modena
Lexi-Term research group. Conference participants are welcome to join the
workshop.

Presentation Guidelines
Papers will be allotted 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for discussion
Time will be allotted for a poster session.
Working Language: English

Abstract Submission
Please send your anonymous abstract totalling no more than 500 words by June
30th 2009 to the following address: clavier09 at unimore.it

Please do not include any self-identifying information on the abstract;
indicate only the title and the abstract itself. On a separate cover sheet,
include:

Title:
Format: (paper/ poster)
Author(s):
Affiliation(s):
Postal mailing address (for primary author):
E-mail (for primary author):


Important dates
June 30th, 2009: Deadline for receipt of abstracts
July 20th, 2009: Notifications of acceptance/rejection
September 10th, 2009: Programme


Further information will be made available soon on the conference website:
http://www.sltt.unimore.it/clavier09
http://www.sltt.unimore.it/on-line/Home/CLAVIER09Conference.html
Organizing committee
Marina Bondi - Silvia Cacchiani - Silvia Cavalieri - Giuliana Diani -
Giuseppe Palumbo

Scientific Committee
Julia Bamford (Napoli) - Marina Bondi (Modena e Reggio Emilia) - Gabriella
Del Lungo (Firenze) - Marina Dossena (Bergamo) - Rita Salvi (Roma) – Elena
Tognini Bonelli (Siena)


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