<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-117f2bfd-7fff-a10f-4965-b13aaa458987"><p style="text-align:left;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000" face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Apologies for cross-posting!</span></font></p><p style="text-align:center;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000" face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></font></p><p style="text-align:center;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font color="#000000" face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">CALL FOR ABSTRACTS</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">
</font></span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:center"><font face="arial, sans-serif">53rd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:center"><font face="arial, sans-serif">26 – 29th August 2020</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:center"><font face="arial, sans-serif">University of Bucharest</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Workshop "New perspectives on word order flexibility"</span></p><div><span><br></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><span><b>Convenors: </b></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><font color="#000000">Savithry Namboodiripad (</font>University of Michigan), Natalia Levshina (MPI for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen) and <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Alex Kramer (University of Michigan)</span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br></div><div><b>Description:</b></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif" style="">As a wider set of empirical tools is applied to persistent questions in syntactic typology, it is possible to revisit typological distinctions that were previously treated as categorical. Recent work using corpus-based entropy (Levshina 2019) and acceptability judgment experiments (Namboodiripad 2017, 2019) has argued for a gradient approach to word (constituent) order flexibility that moves beyond categorical definitions such as “free” or “rigid.” Such approaches aim to describe word order data more precisely, avoiding data reduction and a bias towards bimodally distributed patterns of preferred word order (cf. Wälchli 2009). They also enable us to model correlations between word order and other language-internal and language-external variables, as well as to understand functional pressures that are responsible for the emergence of probabilistic constraints. </font></span></p><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In this workshop, we seek to bring together novel research on variation in word and constituent order, asking about the range of cross-linguistic variation, the sources of this variation, and the methods that might be most appropriate to capture it. </span><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We are also interested in contributions dealing with variation of word order patterns in languages of the world, and with the ways how the cross-linguistic distribution of word orders with “hard” constraints mirror (or possibly diverge) from “soft” constraints in individual languages. </span></font></p><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">The questions that we would like to address include, but are not limited to, the following:</font></span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">What are the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of data to describe word order flexibility?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Where do different methods converge? Where do they diverge?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">What is the appropriate level of lexical and syntactic granularity for measuring flexibility?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">How do communicative and cognitive constraints affect flexibility?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">What changes to theoretical approaches are necessary in order to capture flexibility?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">What is the relationship between flexibility and processing/production pressures?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">What contributes to group-level differences in word order flexibility?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Are there discernable patterns in how flexibility changes due to language contact?</font></span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">How might a more granular approach to flexibility help to explain historical changes in word/constituent order? </font></span></p></li></ul><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">If approved, the workshop will be part of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea (SLE) in Bucharest, August 26th - 29th. We are soliciting abstracts of 300 words which consider variation in word order or constituent order, with a special interest in comparative or typological approaches and work which includes understudied languages or varieties. </font></span></p><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><font face="arial, sans-serif">We encourage contributions from students and junior scholars. </font></span></p><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">300-word abstracts (excluding references) should be emailed to </span><a href="mailto:savithry@umich.edu" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">savithry@umich.edu</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, </span><a href="mailto:natalevs@gmail.com" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">natalevs@gmail.com</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, or</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><a href="mailto:arkram@umich.edu" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">arkram@umich.edu</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> by </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">November 15th</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> in pdf format. The organizers will contact the authors of the chosen abstracts by November 19th, which will then be submitted as part of the workshop proposal. If approved, the authors must submit revised 500-word abstracts </span><a href="http://www.sle2020.eu/call-for-papers" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">according to the SLE guidelines</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> before </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">January 15th, 2020</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. </span></font></p></span><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></font><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><font face="arial, sans-serif">-- <br></font><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font size="2" face="arial, sans-serif">Natalia Levshina</font><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics<br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen</font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif">The Netherlands</font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>