CONFS: LINGUISTICS ASSOCIATION OF GREAT BRITAIN

[billy clark]

        LINGUISTICS ASSOCIATION OF GREAT BRITAIN

        Autumn Meeting 1996: University of Wales Institute Cardiff

        First Circular and Call for Papers

The 1996 Autumn Meeting will be held from Saturday 7 to Monday 9
September  at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Local Organisers:
Janig Stephens (jstephens at cihe.ac.uk), Helen Pandeli (hpandeli at cihe.ac.uk).

Events: The Henry Sweet Lecture 1996 will be delivered by Professor Janet
Fodor (CUNY) and is entitled "Setting parameters: fewer but better triggers."

There will be a Workshop on "Learnability and language acquisition for
linguists", organised by Stefano Bertolo (MIT). Language Acquisition is
regarded by many as one of the most fundamental problems in Linguistics:
how do children acquire, effortlessly and swiftly, systems of rules as
complicated as those that are necessary to characterise a natural language?
This question has a methodological counterpart in the related question: are
there any descriptively sound linguistic theories that must be abandoned
because they rely on systems of rules that are provably impossible for a
human to learn? This introductory mini-course addresses this second
methodological question: how should linguistic research be shaped by the
formal and empirical requirements of learnability and language acquisition
respectively? The course is tutorial in nature and presupposes no previous
knowledge of these topics. This session of the meeting will be chaired by
Robert Borsley and  will be divided in two parts. In the first part Stefano
Bertolo will introduce fundamental concepts and results from formal learning
theory (criteria of successful learning, classes of hypotheses, modes of
presentation and properties of learning functions) and assess the psychological
plausibility of some of the available alternatives. The second part will discuss
the learnability consequences of the Principles and Parameters Hypothesis with
respect to descriptively and empirically motivated problems in Syntax (Martin
Atkinson), Phonology (Jonathan Kaye) and Diachronic Syntax.

There will be a Language Tutorial on Mohawk, given by Professor Marianne
Mithun (University of California, Santa Barbara). Mohawk is a language of the
Iroquoian family, which also includes Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca,
Huron, Tuscarora, Cherokee, and several other lesser known languages. It is
spoken primarily in six communities in Quebec, Ontario, and New York State.
There are several thousand speakers, and some children are now learning
the language again as a mother tongue. The language is of special interest
typologically for a number of reasons. The match between morphological
and syntactic categories is not always as might be expected. There are three
quite distinct morphological categories: nouns, verbs, and particles.
Morphological nouns are generally used as nominals syntactically, but
morphological verbs may be used as predicates, as nominals, or as full
clauses in themselves. The language is also of special interest for its high
degree of productive polysynthesis. All verbs are finite and contain obligatory
pronominal prefixes referring to their core arguments. They show an agent-patient
pattern, which interacts with aspect in interesting ways. There is highly productive
noun incorporation, which speakers use skillfully for both lexical and discourse
purposes. Overall, the language provides an interesting look at the way functions
may be spread over morphological and syntactic patterns, and the consequences
of certain cross-linguistic differences.

There will be a Wine Party on the Saturday evening, following Professor Fodor's lecture.

Enquiries should be sent to the Meetings Secretary (address below).

Call for Papers:  Members and potential guests are invited to offer papers for
the Meeting; abstracts are also accepted from non-members. The LAGB
welcomes submissions on any linguistics or linguistics-related topic. Abstracts
must arrive by 4 June 1996 and should be sent in the format outlined below to the
following address: Professor G. Corbett, Linguistic and International Studies,
University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 5XH. Papers for the programme
are selected anonymously - only the President knows the name of the authors.

Abstracts must be presented as follows: submit SEVEN anonymous copies
of the abstract, plus ONE with name and affiliation, i.e. CAMERA-READY.
The complete abstract containing your title and your name must be no longer
than ONE A4 page (8.27" x 11.69") with margins of at least 1" on all sides. You
may use single spacing (not more than six lines to the inch) and type must be
no smaller than 12 characters per inch. Type uniformly in black (near-letter quality
on a word processor) and make any additions in black. It is preferable to print
out the abstracts using a laser printer, since if the paper is accepted the abstract
will be photocopied and inserted directly into the collection of abstracts sent out
to participants.
WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE ON THE
BACK OF THE ABSTRACT WHICH HAS YOUR NAME ON.

The following layout should be considered as standard:
        (title)  Optimality and the Klingon vowel shift
        (speaker)  Clark Kent
        (institution)  Department of Astrology, Eastern Mars University

The following guidelines may be useful:
1.      Briefly state the topic of your paper.
2.      If your paper is to involve an analysis of linguistic material, give
         critical examples, along with a brief indication of their critical nature.
3.     State the relevance of your ideas to past work or to the future development
         of the field. If you are taking a stand on a controversial issue, summarise
         the arguments which lead you to take up this position.

Normal length of papers: 25 minutes (plus 15 minutes discussion). Squibs (10
minutes) or longer papers (40 minutes) will also be considered: please explain
why your paper requires less or more time than usual.

Conference Bursaries:  There will be a maximum of 10 bursaries available
to unsalaried members of the Association (e.g. PhD students) with preference
given to those who are presenting a paper. Applications should be sent to the
President, and must be received by  4 June 1996. Please state on your application:
(a) date of joining the LAGB; (b) whether or not you are an undergraduate or
postgraduate student; (c) if a student, whether you receive a normal grant; (d)
if not a student, your employment situation. STUDENTS WHO ARE SUBMITTING
AN ABSTRACT and wish to apply for funding should include all the above details
WITH THEIR ABSTRACT.

Guests:  Members may invite any number of guests to meetings of the
association, upon payment of a stlg5 guest invitation fee.

President
Professor Greville Corbett, Linguistic and International Studies,
University of Surrey, GUILDFORD, Surrey, GU2 5XH.
e-mail: g.corbett at surrey.ac.uk

Honorary Secretary
Dr. David Adger, Dept. of Language and Linguistic Science,
University of York, Heslington, York.  YO1 5DD.
e-mail: da4 at tower.york.ac.uk.

Membership Secretary
Dr. Kersti Boerjars, Department of Linguistics, University of
Manchester, MANCHESTER M13 9PL.
e-mail: k.e.borjars at manchester.ac.uk

Meetings Secretary
Dr. Billy  Clark, Communication Studies, Middlesex University, Trent
Park, Bramley Road, LONDON N14 4XS. e-mail: billy1 at mdx.ac.uk

Treasurer
Dr. Paul Rowlett, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of Salford,
Salford M5 4WT. e-mail: p.a.rowlett at mod-lang.salford.ac.uk

Assistant Secretary
Dr. April McMahon, Dept. of Linguistics, University of Cambridge,
Sidgwick Avenue, CAMBRIDGE CB3 9DQ.
e-mail: AMM11 at hermes.cam.ac.uk

BLN Editor
Dr. Siew-Yue Killingley, Grevatt and Grevatt, 9 Rectory Drive,
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE NE13 1XT.

Internet home page: http://clwww.essex.ac.uk/LAGB.

NOTE: Our Spring 1997 meeting, at the University of Edinburgh from
7th-9th April, is adjacent to GALA '97, also at the University of Edinburgh,
4th-6th April. Further information: http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/gala/