31.2700, Calls: Gen Ling, Hist Ling, Ling Theories, Text/Corpus Ling/Germany

Wed Sep 2 01:58:17 UTC 2020

LINGUIST List: Vol-31-2700. Tue Sep 01 2020. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 31.2700, Calls: Gen Ling, Hist Ling, Ling Theories, Text/Corpus Ling/Germany

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Date: Tue, 01 Sep 2020 21:57:35
From: Thilo Weber [freevariation at ids-mannheim.de]
Subject: Free Variation = Unexplained Variation? Empirical and Theoretical Approaches to Optionality in Grammar (DGfS 2021)

Full Title: Free Variation = Unexplained Variation? Empirical and Theoretical Approaches to Optionality in Grammar (DGfS 2021) 

Date: 24-Feb-2021 - 26-Feb-2021
Location: Freiburg i. Breisgau, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany 
Contact Person: Thilo Weber
Meeting Email: freevariation at ids-mannheim.de
Web Site: https://dgfs2021.uni-freiburg.de/ 

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Linguistic Theories; Text/Corpus Linguistics 

Call Deadline: 20-Sep-2020 

Meeting Description:

The 43rd annual meeting of the German Linguistic Society (DGfS, Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Sprachwissenschaft) will be held at the University of
Freiburg (Germany) from 24-26 February, 2021. The overarching topic is
''Modelling and Evidence''. This workshop will be one of 15 thematic sections.

Recent years have seen an increasing interest in grammatical (in particular:
syntactic) variation (e. g. Dufter et al. 2009), e. g. genitive variation in
English, copula variation in Spanish, linking elements (Fugenelemente) in
German compounds. Statistical models are employed to predict speakers' choices
as accurately as possible (e. g. Bresnan & Ford 2010). However, there always
remains a portion of unexplained data, often thought to be ''free'' variation
(Cappelle 2009). But what exactly is it that we are left with if we strip away
all possible extralinguistic and intralinguistic factors? Is it random noise
or something systematic? How do we tackle it methodologically? And what are
its implications for our respective grammatical theories (e. g. how do we
model form-function relations)?

Invited speaker: Freek Van de Velde
Workshop organizers: Kristin Kopf & Thilo Weber (IDS Mannheim)

Second Call for Papers: 

Deadline extension: Sep 20, 2020

We welcome contributions on any language and from any area of linguistics (e.
g. phonology, morphology, syntax) that approach the workshop topic on a solid
empirical basis. Contributions may, for example, present phenomena showing
puzzling amounts of free variation or show that some variation previously
thought to be free can, in fact, be thoroughly explained by some factor
overlooked before. The questions we want to address include, but are not
limited to, the following:
‒ (How) Can we benefit methodologically and theoretically from assuming free
variation?
‒ How can we study free variation? How similarly do variants have to be
distributed to be considered in ''free'' variation
‒ What are the implications for our models of grammar?
‒ How does free variation come into existence? Can it be diachronically stable
or do free variants tend to become functionalized in the long run?
‒ Are there different types (and if so: what types) of free variation? Are
there general differences across e. g. phonology, morphology and syntax?
‒ What role is played by frequency and gradience? Do free variants necessarily
need to occur at equal frequencies and/or be equally acceptable?

We invite submissions for 20-minute oral presentations (+ 10 minutes
discussion) in English or German. Abstracts should clearly state the research
question(s), the methodological approach, and the (expected) results. They
should be anonymously submitted via
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=freevari2021 and should not exceed 500
words (excluding data, figures and references). The deadline for submission is
31 August 2020; notification date is 30 September 2020.

A limited number of travel grants of up to 500 Euro are available for accepted
contributions by DGfS members without/with low income. Please note that the
regulations of the DGfS do not allow that workshop participants present two or
more papers in different workshops. While we hope that the conference can take
place as planned, there might be changes due to Covid-19.

References:
Bresnan, Joan & Marylin Ford. 2010. Predicting Syntax: Processing Dative
Constructions in American and Australian Varieties of English. Language 86
(1), 168-213.
Cappelle, Bert. 2009. Can we factor out free choice? In: Dufter et al. (eds),
183-201.
Dufter, Andreas, Jürg Fleischer & Guido Seiler (eds.). 2009. Describing and
modeling variation in grammar. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.

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