CFP: The Multilingual Internet

[Tania Shepherd]

Call for papers
>
> Call For Papers
>
> THE MULTILINGUAL INTERNET: LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
> IN INSTANT MESSAGING, EMAIL AND CHAT
>
> Co-editors:
>
> Brenda Danet Susan Herring
> Hebrew University of Jerusalem Indiana University
> and Yale University Bloomington
> brenda.danet at yale.edu herring at indiana.edu
>
>
> In today's multilingual, global world, hundreds of millions
> of people are communicating on the Internet not only in its
> established lingua franca, English, but also in many other
> languages. To date, the research literature in English on the
> features of computer-mediated communication has focused almost
> exclusively on emergent practices in English, neglecting
> developments within populations communicating online in other
> languages. This is a Call for Papers for a special issue of the
> Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, a peer-reviewed online
> journal. We may also edit a follow-up book on the same theme,
> containing a wider selection of papers, with a major publisher.
>
> Papers may relate to instant messaging, private email, postings to
> listserv lists and newsgroups, text-only chat, e.g., on IRC or MOOs,
> visually enhanced chat, or SMS (short message service) in mobile
> phone use.
>
> We invite papers on topics such as:
>
> --The influence of the local language on the use of a medium, e.g.,
> the distinctive features of email or chat in languages with specific
> font-related requirements (e.g., French, Russian, Hindi, Arabic,
> Korean, Chinese).
>
> --Cultural constraints on the use of the medium, e.g., how traditional
> requirements for deference in Japanese language and culture are
> realized or modified in online communication; Italian non-verbal and
> verbal expressivity as realized in typed chat.
>
> --Comparison of the distinctive features of email or chat in two or
> more language-culture groups or sub-groups with differing cultural
> orientations, e.g., Austrian German versus German German.
>
> --Chat in situations of diglossia--differentiation between spoken and
> written languages and dialects (e.g., Moroccan spoken Arabic and how
> it is being realized in typed chat).
>
> --Code-switching in bilingual or multilingual online communication.
>
> --The clash between requirements of formality in the letter-writing
> tradition in a given language-culture constellation and the trend
> toward speech-like patterns in online textual communication.
>
> --Language and play with culture, including play with identity
> (e.g., via nicknames).
>
> --A comparison of online communication within the same language-
> culture group but in different languages, e.g., Israeli chat in
> English versus Hebrew.
>
> --The effects of the English language or global "netspeak" (Crystal,
> 2001) on email and chat in the local language.
>
> --Online communication in English by non-native speakers, focusing
> on language and culture issues.
>
>
> Submission procedures:
>
> Potential authors should submit a preliminary proposal of 500-1000
> words by November 30, 2002 (earlier submissions are encouraged).
> The proposal should describe the research question, the data and
> methods of analysis, preliminary findings/observations and their
> broader significance, and should include selected references. The
> proposal should also include a tentative paper title.
>
> Authors whose proposals are accepted for inclusion will be invited
> to submit a full paper of roughly 7,000-10,000 words by April 15,
> 2003. Since JCMC is an interdisciplinary journal, authors should
> plan for papers that will be accessible to non-specialists. If you
> have a potentially suitable paper that is already published or
> slated for publication elsewhere, we would also like to hear from
> you, as it might be possible to republish high quality articles in
> the follow-up book.
>
> Questions? Proposal ideas? Please address all correspondence
> electronically to both co-editors: Brenda Danet
> (brenda.danet at yale.edu) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu).
>
> A Web version of this Call for Papers is available at:
> http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/cfpmultilingual.html
>
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