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<P><FONT SIZE=2>[Apologies for multiple posting]<BR>
<BR>
Language Contact and Change: Multiple and Bimodal Bilingual Minorities<BR>
<BR>
Date: May 28, 2009<BR>
Location: Tartu, Estonia<BR>
Workshop at the International Conference on Minority Languages XII (ICML<BR>
2009)<BR>
Website: <A HREF="http://www.dipfilmod-suf.unifi.it/CMpro-v-p-236.html">http://www.dipfilmod-suf.unifi.it/CMpro-v-p-236.html</A><BR>
Contact: tartulcc at gmail.com<BR>
<BR>
The workshop aims at exploring the language contact and language change<BR>
phenomena that characterize multiple linguistic minorities. It focuses on but is not confined to signed, Uralic and Caucasian languages.<BR>
<BR>
On the one hand, we intend to explore the situation of bimodal bilingualism. Data from changes in multi-modal bilingual contexts can lead to new insights into bilingualism, the typology and structure of languages, and language change and contact in general. Research into<BR>
bimodal bilingualism can draw upon several methods and approaches<BR>
developed for studying the bilingualism of other minority languages, and<BR>
vice versa.<BR>
<BR>
On the other hand, we know that it is difficult to reach the bilingual<BR>
individuals and communities that are deaf and belong to several<BR>
linguistic minorities. Therefore, we approach the bimodal target via<BR>
individual studies on minority languages. More specifically, we concentrate on the issue of language change in contact in the context of a typologically wide range of minority languages. We are looking for answers to questions such as the following:<BR>
<BR>
- How do deaf children of (hearing) parents belonging to linguistic minorities (e.g., Nganasan) communicate with the Deaf communities in their country and with their own parents?<BR>
- How does their language change?<BR>
- How can we test the change in the structure of the languages in contact in a uniform way?<BR>
- What are the factors that influence the developments?<BR>
- Can we work towards a typology?<BR>
<BR>
Invited keynote speakers:<BR>
<BR>
Csilla Bartha (hearing) (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest): The situation of the Deaf and national minorities in Hungary;<BR>
Östen Dahl (hearing) (Stockholm University): Contact induced changes in<BR>
tense and aspect systems;<BR>
Tatiana Davidenko (Deaf) (Moscow Centre for Deaf Studies and Bilingual<BR>
Education): Sign Language Diversity in Post-Soviet Countries;<BR>
Anna Komarova (hearing) (Moscow Centre for Deaf Studies and Bilingual<BR>
Education): Development of Bilingual Education of the Deaf in Post-Soviet Countries;<BR>
Gaurav Mathur (Deaf) (Gallaudet University): The relationship between<BR>
agreement and finiteness in sign languages;<BR>
Johanna Mesch (Deaf) (Stockholm University): Variations in tactile signing - the case of one-handed conversation;<BR>
Helle Metslang (hearing) (University of Tartu): Changes in Finnish and<BR>
Estonian tense and aspect;<BR>
Christian Rathmann (Deaf) (Hamburg University): Minority Communities<BR>
within German Deaf Community;<BR>
Don Stilo (hearing) (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig): Introduction to an<BR>
Atlas of the Araxes-Iran Linguistic Area.<BR>
<BR>
Check for updates, our interdisciplinary areas, and more research questions at<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.dipfilmod-suf.unifi.it/CMpro-v-p-236.html">http://www.dipfilmod-suf.unifi.it/CMpro-v-p-236.html</A><BR>
<BR>
Submission (deadline January 15, 2009, notification January 31, 2009).<BR>
<BR>
Abstracts (in English, maximum 2 pages, including data and references)<BR>
have to be submitted electronically as portable document format (.pdf)<BR>
or Microsoft Word (.doc) files via the EasyChair conference management<BR>
system (<A HREF="https://www.easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=lcc09">https://www.easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=lcc09</A>).<BR>
<BR>
If you do not have an EasyChair account, click on the button "I have no<BR>
EasyChair Account" on that page and follow the instructions. When you<BR>
receive a password, you can enter the site and upload your abstract.<BR>
<BR>
Organizers:<BR>
<BR>
Nino Amiridze, Utrecht University (The Netherlands)<BR>
Östen Dahl, University of Stockholm (Sweden)<BR>
Anne Tamm, University of Florence (Italy) and Institute for the Estonian<BR>
Language (Estonia)<BR>
Manana Topadze, University of Pavia (Italy)<BR>
Inge Zwitserlood, Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands)</FONT>
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