<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,255)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,255)"><div class="gmail_default">Dearest Val and colleagues,</div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div><div class="gmail_default">Please find attached TISLR 15 Call for Papers to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from January 14 - 17, 2025.</div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div><div class="gmail_default">Best wishes,</div><div class="gmail_default">Eyasu</div><div class="gmail_default"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,255)"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:19pt;line-height:27.1067px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Call for Papers</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research 15 (TISLR 15)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Host Institution</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: Addis Ababa University</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Host Country</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: Ethiopia</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Venue</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (pending approval)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Conference Dates</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: January 14 – 17, 2025</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Conference Theme</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: Sign Language is the Future, the Future is Sign Language</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Conference website</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">: <a href="http://www.tislrethiopia.org/" target="_blank">www.tislrethiopia.org</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:17.12px;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Conference Description</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research (TISLR) is the largest and the most prestigious conference where researchers involved in sign language research from around the world come to present and discuss their research findings. It is overseen by the board of the Sign Language Linguistic Society (SLLS – <a href="http://www.slls.eu/" target="_blank">www.slls.eu</a>). The first conference was held in Rochester, USA in 1986, and since then it has been held every three years on average, mainly in Europe and the United States.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">At the 13th TISLR conference held in 2019 at the University of Hamburg in Germany, Ethiopia won the bid to host TISLR 15 in 2025. TISLR 15 is going to be held for the first time in the continent Africa.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Invited presenters</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">There are 5 groups of invited presenters to represent the entire world:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Group 1 presenters:</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Dr. Sam Lutalo-Kiingi, Uganda and Dr. Pawlos Kasu, Ethiopia</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Group 2 presenters:</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Dr. Mary Edward, Ghana and Dr. Michiko Kaneko, South Africa</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Group 3 presenters:</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Prof. Ceil Lucas, Dr. Carolyn McCaskill, Dr. Joseph Hill and Prof. Robert Bayley– USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Group 4 presenters: </span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Dr. Annelies Kusters, UK and Dr. Carol Padden, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Group 5 presenters:</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Prof. Christian Rathmann, Germany, Dr. Ronice Müller de Quadros, Brazil and Dr. Kang Suk Byun, Korea</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Thematic areas</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">TISLR 15 invites unpublished research from any theoretical perspective that addresses sign languages. Keynote presentations, organized sessions, and poster sessions will be included on such topics. Such topics are categorized in six areas:</span></p></div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255);font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"><br clear="all" style="break-before:page"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Focus Area One: Linguistic Structure of Sign Languages</span></i></b></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Phonetics and phonology of sign languages</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Prosody of sign languages</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Morphology of sign languages</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Syntax of sign languages</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Focus Area Two:  Historical and Sociolinguistic Aspects</span></i></b></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">The emergence of sign languages in a historical context</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sociolinguistic variation and change in sign languages</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign language discourse analysis</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign linguistic ethnography</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign linguistic anthropology</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Focus Area Three: Acquisition, Bilingualism, and Education</span></i></b></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign language acquisition in L1/L2 environments</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Bilingualism and multilingualism of sign languages</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign language and education</span></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,255);margin-left:0.75in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Applied sign linguistics</span></p><p style="margin:0in;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Focus Area Four: </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Neurological and </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Focus Area Five: Computational and Documentation Aspects</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"></span></i></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.75in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Computational modelling, recognition, and synthesis of sign languages</span></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.75in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Sign language documentation/corpus linguistics</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Focus Area Five: Psychological Perspectives</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"></span></i></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.75in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Neurolinguistics/psycholinguistics of sign languages</span></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.75in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">The relationship between sign language and gesture</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><font color="#0000ff"><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">Focus Area Six: Artistic and Cultural Aspects of Sign Languages</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"></span></i></font></p><p style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.75in;line-height:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#0000ff">•<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"">            </span></font></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"><font color="#0000ff">Sign language and artistic endeavors (including poetry and literature)</font><font color="#050505"></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Apart from completed research, contributions based on ongoing research are welcome.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Submission guidelines</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Non anonymous abstracts should be submitted through the Oxford Abstract management webpage (</span><a href="https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/6945/submitter" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/6945/submitter</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">). For written abstracts, please upload a pdf. For signed abstracts, please upload a link to the video. While the written abstract should not be longer than 2 pages, in 12-point type, single-line spacing and 2.5 cm margins. The signed abstract must not be longer than 5 minutes. The Oxford Abstract management webpage started its operation on Nov 3, 2023. Abstracts should include a clear statement of the theoretical issue to be addressed, the research methodology to be presented, and a concise summary of the findings/conclusion. A maximum of 3 submissions which are in single and/or co-authored submissions are allowed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Should you have queries, please send us an email at: </span><a href="mailto:tislr@aau.edu.et" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">tislr@aau.edu.et</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Details are available on the conference web page (</span><a href="http://www.tislrethiopia.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">www.tislrethiopia.org</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Important Dates</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);text-indent:0.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Submission of Abstract: January 31, 2024</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">         Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2024</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">         Author’s Registration Deadline: October 1, 2024</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Conference Languages</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">To facilitate interpreter planning, presenters are required to indicate which language you will present in if your abstract is accepted: Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL), American Sign Language (ASL); International Sign (IS) or English.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(0,0,255);line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Mode of presentations</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">The Local Organizing Committee has been working with the wish to host a fully physical conference, where sign language specialists and practitioners can sit next to each other, in Addis Ababa, and share ideas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">However, to accommodate the presenters and participants who are unable to attend the conference in person, we will provide an online presentation platform for them. We hope that most of the participants will make it to Addis Ababa.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Therefore, to indicate your preference for the remote format, please fill out the presentation format field in the submission form.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:center;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">The Local Organizing Committee,</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:center;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Ethiopian Sign Language and Deaf Culture Program Unit</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:center;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Department of Linguistics</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:center;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">College of Humanities, Language Studies, Journalism and Communication</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:12pt 0in 0in;color:rgb(0,0,255);text-align:center;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif">Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia</span></b></p></div></div></div></div>