21.4434, Calls: Syntax, Typology/Finland

Fri Nov 5 21:46:53 UTC 2010

LINGUIST List: Vol-21-4434. Fri Nov 05 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.4434, Calls: Syntax, Typology/Finland

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1)
Date: 04-Nov-2010
From: Maria Vilkuna [maria.vilkuna at kotus.fi]
Subject: Variation and Typology: New Trends in Syntactic Research

-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:38:24
From: Maria Vilkuna [maria.vilkuna at kotus.fi]
Subject: Variation and Typology: New Trends in Syntactic Research

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Full Title: Variation and Typology: New Trends in Syntactic Research 

Date: 25-Aug-2011 - 27-Aug-2011
Location: Helsinki, Finland 
Contact Person: Meri Larjavaara
Meeting Email: typ-variation at helsinki.fi
Web Site: http://www.linguistics.fi/variation/ 

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax; Typology 

Call Deadline: 01-Mar-2011 

Meeting Description:

The Linguistic Association of Finland (SKY ry.) in co-operation with the
Research Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) organize a Conference on
'Variation and Typology: New Trends in Syntactic Research', on August 25-27,
2011, at the premises of the University of Helsinki. 

Confirmed invited speakers: 

Balthasar Bickel (University of Leipzig) 
Joan Bresnan (Stanford University) 
Marja-Liisa Helasvuo (University of Turku)
For more information, see: 

http://www.linguistics.fi/variation/ 

Call For Papers

In recent years, theoretical discussion around syntactic issues has been
characterized by a growing interest towards variation, both dialectal and
cross-linguistic. Typological considerations have proven to be essential even
for research on individual languages. On the other hand, detailed studies of
variation within languages (e.g. studies of dialectical variation) and variation
across closely related languages have attracted more interest among typologists.
One consequence of this has been that the focus in dialect research has shifted
from phonological and morphological towards syntactic questions. Whether this
will turn out to be a mere adjustment in attention or a major paradigm shift, a
broadened perspective is welcome and also necessary. In order for new approaches
to emerge, old ones need to be combined in novel ways. 

This symposium offers a forum for scholars interested in syntactic questions
within typology and variation (and combinations thereof) and willing to
contribute to this collective shift of focus. The goal of the symposium is to
approach the concept of variation from a broader perspective for gaining new
insights into what variation (in its different forms) can reveal about language.
Basically, variation can be seen both language-internal (e.g. dialects,
sociolects etc.) and cross-linguistic (typological variation).There are numerous
studies of both of these, but only quite recently has there been real effort to
combine these two aspects of variation (e.g. Kortmann 2004, Nevalainen et al.
2006, Barbiers et al. 2008). Special attention will be given to the
oft-neglected areas which fall between the foci of linguistic typology and
variation studies within syntax when these are seen as separate fields of study.
The question we would like to be addressed is briefly: what do we gain by
studying variation both within and across languages. Put another way, what are
the implications of variation studies and language typology to one another? 

We heartily welcome papers related to the overall enterprise. Possible topics
for talks include, but, as usual, are not restricted to, the following: 
- Dialect syntax vs. syntactic typology: what is the relation between
cross-linguistic variation and dialectal variation? 
- Accounting for variation in syntactic theory: rigid rules, fuzzy templates, or
something else? 
- Implications of language variation to typological data selection & research: 
What is the 'best variant' of a language to be presented in reference grammars? 
What are the consequences of relying on standard language data in
cross-linguistic research? And what is the significance of having vs. not having
variation data available to the grammarian? 
- How to take into account variation in typological research in syntax? 
- Case studies of variation within and across languages (e.g. clause combining,
use of reflexive pronouns, possessive constructions, argument marking, word
order variations, etc. etc. within and across languages) 
- Methodological contributions to variation: to what extent do we need different
machinery for dealing with different types of variation, and to what extent are
we dealing with 'just variation'? 
- Variation and marginal constructions: do we need a distinction between core
and periphery in grammar? Does this involve a distinction between common and
dialectal variants? Are certain constructions marginal both in dialects and
across languages? 
- Borderline between dialectal and typological variation: e.g. issues of dealing
with closely related languages, distinguishing between dialects vs. languages,
spontaneous vs. contact-induced variation, etc. 
- Qualitative methods in typology and dialect studies 

Abstract submission

Please send your abstract to typ-variation /at/ helsinki.fi no later than March
1, 2011. The length of abstracts should not exceed 500 words (excluding data and
references). Abstracts will be evaluated by the members of the scientific
committee and also by the organizing committee. Letters of acceptance will be
sent by March 31, 2011. The abstracts themselves must be anonymous, but the body
of the message should include the following information: 

Name of the participant 
Title of presentation 
Affiliation 
E-mail address 
Whether the paper is meant as a section paper, a poster, or a workshop 
Workshops

The symposium will include a workshop on Finnish and Finnic dialect syntax.
Proposals for all workshops should be submitted no later than February 11, 2011.
Notification of acceptance will be given by March 7, 2011. These one-day
workshops will run in parallel sessions with the main conference program.
Alternatively, the first day of the symposium may be dedicated to workshops. The
symposium organizers will provide the lecture rooms and other facilities, but
the workshop organizers will be responsible for the organization of their
workshops (choosing the speakers etc.). 

Key dates:

- Deadline for abstract submission: March 1, 2011
- Notification of acceptance: March 31, 2011
- Proposals for workshops: February 11, 2011
- Notification of acceptance of workshops: March 7, 2011

Activities: 
- Presentations by the invited speakers
- Presentation by other participants
- Posters
- Workshops

Scientific committee 
- Sjef Barbiers (University of Amsterdam) 
- Hans Boas (University of Texas, Austin) 
- Hannele Forsberg (University of Eastern Finland) 
- Bernd Kortmann (University of Freiburg) 
- Ekkehard König (Freie Universität Berlin) 
- Michel Launey (University of Paris 7) 
- Silvia Luraghi (University of Pavia) 
- Jan-Ola Östman (University of Helsinki) 
- Cecilia Poletto (University of Padova) 
- Stéphane Robert (CNRS) 
- Anna Siewierska (University of Lancaster) 
- Jussi Ylikoski (University of Helsinki) 

Organizing committee: 
- Seppo Kittilä (University of Helsinki) 
- Aki-Juhani Kyröläinen (University of Turku) 
- Meri Larjavaara (Åbo Akademi University) 
- Jaakko Leino (Research Institute for the Languages of Finland) 
- Alexandre Nikolaev (University of Eastern Finland) 
- Maria Vilkuna (Research Institute for the Languages of Finland) 

Contact: 
Please send all queries to typ-variation at helsinki.fi 

References

Barbiers, Sjef & Olaf Koeneman & Marika Lekakou & Margreet van der Ham (eds.)
2008. Microvariation in syntactic doubling. Syntax and Semantics, volume 36.
Bingley: Emerald. 

Kortmann, Berndt (ed.) 2004. Dialectology meets typology: dialect grammar from a
cross-linguistic perspective. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 

Nevalainen, Terttu & Juhani Klemola & Mikko Laitinen (eds.) 2006. Types of
variation: diachronic, dialectical and typological interfaces. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.

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