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<p class="MsoNormal">It is <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">with</span>
great pleasure that our committee is announcing a call for paper for 2nd Sign Language Workshop, associating with World Congress of African Linguistics-7
(WOCAL-7).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The conference
date of WOCAL-7 is August 20th through 24th, 2012 and the workshop will be one
full-day on August 21st. This event will take place at University of Buea, in Cameroon, Africa.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The workshop
aims to foster international exchange and cooperation in African Sign Language
and d/Deaf community research and to contribute to further development of the field.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The workshop
will be accessible for all people and we encourage African Deaf academics and
Deaf community leaders to participate in the workshop and present their work.
For the first time this exciting event is taking place in Africa, which is a
unique opportunity for professionals, academics and Deaf community members in
this part of the world to get together and share their experiences and
expertise!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Sign
Language Workshop aims to focus on (but not necessarily limited to) sign language
description and documentation, deaf community development, deaf education, and
the preservation of deaf cultural heritage in Africa. We also provide room for
a focus on the Cameroon context. We welcome papers on:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>1) Sign
language documentation and linguistic analysis</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>2) Sign
languages and gestures in social, cultural, and political contexts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>3) Emergence
and development of sign languages and deaf communities</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>4) Sign
language in (deaf) education and interpreting training</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>5) Cameroon
Sign Language and the Cameroon Deaf Community</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Languages:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>International
Sign is the preferred workshop language. Languages of the workshop include
International Sign, Cameroon Sign Language, American Sign Language, French Sign
Language, French, and English.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abstract
submission formats:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are two
options of submitting your abstract(s) in a different format. The conventional
method is textual format, with max. 500 words and two languages are <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">acceptable</span> for typed-abstract
submissions: English and French.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Secondly, the abstract submission may be translated in a signed language
on a video format.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The maximum of
a videotaped abstract should go up to 5-minute long. Acceptable sign languages
for signed-translation video submissions are: American Sign Language, Cameroonian
Sign Language, French Sign Language, and International Signs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Please email your abstracts to SignLanguageWorkshopWOCAL7 @
gmail . com or use large-file web services--dropbox or yousendit--to send your
videos.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Important
dates:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The deadline of
the abstract submission is on October 31st, 2011.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Notification of
paper acceptance will be on January 31st, 2012.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For more
information or other translations (en français, International Signs or American Sign Language (ASL)), please view the website of this event at
http://wocal7.erinad.org </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you have any
question, please email to the committee at SignLanguageWorkshopWOCAL7 @ gmail .
com .</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We will
appreciate it very much if this announcement <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold">is</span> circulated <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">with</span>
your colleagues, students, d/Deaf communities or other universities,
particularly those with interests of African Studies,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Anthropology,
Linguistics and International Development.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On behalf of the organizing committee,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Gratien G. Atindogbé, Dr. Goedele De Clerk, Sam
Lutalo-Kiingi, Rezenet Moges, and Dr. Victoria Nyst</p>
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