Gullah Conference Call for Papers

[Paul D. Fallon (by way of Salikoko Mufwene <mufw@midway.uchicago.edu>)]

CALL FOR PAPERS

*********************************************************
*   Gullah: A Linguistic Legacy of Africans in America  *
*          A Conference on the 50th Anniversary of      *
*        _Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect_            *
*********************************************************

Friday, November 3, 2000
Howard University
Washington, DC


*Invited Speakers:*

* Dr. Salikoko S. Mufwene, Dept. of Linguistics,
        University of Chicago
* Dr. John R. Rickford, Dept. of Linguistics,
        Stanford University

In 1949 Lorenzo Dow Turner, the first African American linguist, published
_Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect_.  This work, still considered a
"monument of scholarship," convinced the academic establishment of the
many African elements found in Gullah, where previous studies, not based
on fieldwork, had either observed only a minimal African influence or
denied it altogether.  Now, the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of
Turner's work, is an appropriate time for:

* a contemporary assessment of the state of the art of Gullah
        language studies

                and

* a celebration and popularization of Turner's linguistic
        contributions

Papers are invited relating to any of the following themes:

* Linguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of the Gullah language
* Comparison of and/or relationship between Gullah and African
        American Vernacular English
* Comparison of and/or relationship between Gullah and Caribbean or
        African creoles
* Assessment of Lorenzo Dow Turner's linguistic scholarship

Papers which relate the linguistic significance of Gullah to a general
academic audience of students and faculty are also welcome.

Papers should be 15 minutes long, plus 5 minutes for discussion.

Deadline for receipt of abstracts: June 1, 2000 by 5 p.m.  Late
submissions will not be considered.

Abstracts, including bibliography (if needed) and examples, must
not exceed 500 words and must fit on one side of the page.  Be sure to
include the title of the abstract.  Do not put your name on the abstract
or include any information that identifies you as the author. Please send
eight copies of the abstract for anonymous review.  Faxed or e-mailed
abstracts will not be accepted. In addition, send a 3"x5" card listing:

        1. paper title;
        2. name(s) of author(s);
        3. affiliation(s) of author(s);
        4. e-mail address to which notification of acceptance
                or rejection should be sent.
        5.  postal addresses for the summer and fall of 2000
        6. primary author's office and home phone numbers;
        7. primary author's e-mail address, if available.
        8. whether this paper is targeted toward specialists (linguists)
                or general audience

An author may submit at most one single and one joint abstract. In case of
joint authorship, one address should be designated. Please send abstracts
to:

Gullah Conference
c/o Dr. Paul D. Fallon
Department of English
248 Locke Hall
Howard University
2441 6th St., NW
Washington, DC 20059

Contacts for further information:
        e-mail: pfallon at howard.edu
        phone: (202) 806-5611.

This conference is sponsored by the Howard University Fund for Academic
Excellence.