[EDLING:309] CFP: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

[Francis M. Hult]

Invitation and Call for Papers

Conference on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity – 
World Language Centre in Iceland  

2-3 November 2007

The Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages
University of Iceland, Reykjavík

This is an invitation to participate in a conference on a proposed World 
Language Centre in Iceland (see further information below)* and a first Call 
for Papers on comparative research in Linguistic, Literary and Cultural 
Studies. The conference will be held in Reykjavík, Iceland, Friday 2nd to 
Saturday 3rd November 2007 and will be organised by the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir 
Institute of Foreign Languages at the University of Iceland (www.vigdis.hi.is). 

The conference will have four consecutive sessions: 
1.	Future Visions of the World Language Centre: keynote speakers and a 
panel discussion.
2.	International Co-operation: keynote speakers and a panel discussion 
involving similar language institutes from around the world.
3.	Experience Centre: keynote speakers discussing computer technology and 
virtual reality in experiencing language. 
4.	Comparative research in Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Studies. 

Section 3 and 4 will be an open forum for a limited number of papers (20 mins. 
duration) for which we welcome proposals. 

Among the keynote speakers will be 

•	Ms. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland and UNESCO’s 
Goodwill Ambassador for the Languages; 
•	Professor Peter K. Austin, Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics, 
SOAS http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/index.php?cd=pa; 
•	Professor Bernard Spolsky, Bar-Ilan University 
http://www.biu.ac.il/faculty/spolsb/.
 
 
Further information on the conference and registration can be obtained at: 
infovigdis at hi.is and proposals (abstracts: 250-500 words) should be sent to the 
same 
e-mail address by 20th August. The proposals will be reviewed and selected by 
September 10th.

Potential topics for the third and fourth session might include:
•	Language planning and language ecology
•	Language conflicts and linguistic ideology, attitudes, standardization 
and variation
•	Language as a foundation for democracy
•	Language as a foundation for cultural values and heritage
•	Foreign language instruction and acquisition
•	Research on Nordic languages as second and foreign languages
•	Inter-regional language comprehension (e.g. within the Nordic 
countries) and its value for cooperation and identity
•	Utilisation of computer technology in experiencing language and culture
•	Inter-cultural communication
•	Multicultural/multilingual influences on national and minority 
literatures
•	Comparative Research in Literature 
•	Literature and culture
•	Translation studies
•	Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives 
•	Comparative lexical studies  

* The World Language Centre is an ambitious project, led by the Vigdís 
Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages, which aims at creating an 
international forum for academic research and dialogue on the world’s 
languages. The WLC will be located in the heart of Reykjavík, at the centre of 
the University of Iceland campus. Its facilities will consist of an extensive 
database through which language research and teaching can take place, an 
international conference hall to enable scholars and international societies 
from all around the world to hold meetings and conferences, and a virtual 
reality space, dedicated to scholarly and artistic representations of language 
research, which will be open to the public. Special emphasis will be placed on 
enabling the general public to experience and gain insights into the enormous 
diversity of cultures and languages in the world. Further information on the 
World Language Centre can be obtained via the following link: 
http://www.vigdis.hi.is/id/1011040.

The Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages is a research 
institute within the University of Iceland. It is comprised of faculty members 
who teach modern languages and cultures, the classical languages, and 
translation studies. The Institute has the honour of bearing the name of Ms. 
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the former president of Iceland (1980-1996). She was the 
first woman in the world to be democratically elected as a head of state and 
now serves as UNESCO’s first, and so far only, Goodwill Ambassador for 
Languages.