31.2643, Calls: Applied Ling, Pragmatics, Socioling/Switzerland

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-31-2643. Tue Aug 25 2020. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 31.2643, Calls: Applied Ling, Pragmatics, Socioling/Switzerland

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Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2020 10:35:24
From: Gianni De Nardi [gianni.denardi at zhaw.ch]
Subject: Making language for specific purposes comprehensible for a broader public: Evaluating and improving expert-lay communication in different domains

 
Full Title: Making language for specific purposes comprehensible for a broader public: Evaluating and improving expert-lay communication in different domains 

Date: 27-Jun-2021 - 02-Jul-2021
Location: Winterthur, Switzerland 
Contact Person: Gianni De Nardi
Meeting Email: gianni.denardi at zhaw.ch

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Pragmatics; Sociolinguistics 

Call Deadline: 25-Oct-2020 

Meeting Description:

Communication of expert knowledge for a broader public is a growing societal
concern (Antos 2020; Brettschneider et al. 2012; Lugger 2020; Lutz 2019). This
is because domain-specific knowledge is a crucial precondition of
self-determined access to the knowledge society in general and of
participation in specific social domains such as education, public
administration, politics, healthcare, and the law. Making research processes,
findings, their interpretation, implications, and applications comprehensible
and accessible for a lay public is thus a challenge for experts in all
knowledge domains. From a linguistic point of view, a core question is the
comprehensibility of languages for specific purposes (LSP) for laypersons with
different levels of language competence, reading ability, and prior knowledge
as well as different cultural backgrounds (e.g., Ballod 2020; Busch 2015;
Göpferich 2002; Kastberg 2019).
 
A highly relevant current illustration of this challenge is provided by the
substantial extent of public misunderstanding of scientific principles,
research findings, and research uncertainty during the corona pandemic. A less
visible, yet internationally widely documented and ethically crucial example
concerns research subjects’ (lack of) comprehension of informed consent (IC)
documents (e.g., Baum 2006; De Nardi et al. 2018; Fernandes Moreira et al.
2016; Stunkel et al. 2010).
 
This panel addresses the question of LSP comprehensibility from the
perspectives of pragmatics, text/discourse linguistics, and psycholinguistics,
spanning LSP domains such as the life sciences, the technical, medical/health,
legal, political, and economic domains:

 - Which factors mediate LSP comprehensibility for (different groups of)
laypersons?
For instance, which linguistic features make an IC form, a press release, an
economic or a legal text comprehensible for a broader public? Which features –
related to content, speech acts, vocabulary, (morpho-)syntax, text structure,
explicitness etc. (e.g., De Nardi et al. 2018; Hansen-Schirra et al. 2009;
Wolfer 2017) – lead to higher/lesser degrees of comprehension? 

 - How can comprehensibility of oral and written formats of LSP be evaluated
(e.g., Ballstaedt 2019; Bührig/Meyer 2007; Burgess et al. 2019; Kercher 2013;
Wöllstein 2017)? Which (psycho-) linguistic measures and models of
comprehension can be applied or adapted for such evaluations?

 - How can LSP comprehensibility be improved (e.g., Bleiberg et al. 2019)?
What is the potential contribution of so-called “light” or “plain language”
(e.g., Luttermann 2017; Maaß/Rink 2017; NIH 2013)? How can visualizations
contribute to LSP comprehensibility? (How) Does digitalization impact LSP
comprehensibility (e.g., Marx 2019; Turnbull 2014)?

 - How is comprehension negotiated in communicative exchanges between experts
and laypersons, e.g., medical doctors and patients (e.g., Groß 2018;
Stukenbrock 2008)? What are potential implications for linguistic
professionalization, e.g., in medical, health, and care professions?

The panel invites international experts dealing theoretically and/or
practically with different domains and formats of expert-lay communication
and/or aspects of LSP comprehensibility for laypersons. The goal of the panel
is to (1) share challenges, findings, and options regarding the evaluation and
improvement of LSP comprehensibility and (2) to discuss implications and
applications across research domains and disciplines.


Call for Papers: 

Abstracts of 250-500 words need to be submitted by October 25, 2020 via the
IPrA submission system (see https://pragmatics.international/page/CfP for full
submission instructions). If you are interested in participating in this panel
(and prior to submitting your abstract), please contact the panel organizers
(gianni.denardi at zhaw.ch) well before the October 25 deadline.




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LINGUIST List: Vol-31-2643	
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