Theme Session Lectal Varieties ICLC9

[Gitte Kristiansen]

First Call for Papers for a Theme Session at the 9th International 
Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Yonsei University (Seoul, Korea) 17-
22 July 2005


Lectal Varieties and the Conceptualization of Lectal Variation in 
Cognitive Linguistics


Gitte Kristiansen and Dirk Geeraerts 

Lectal varieties (those mental constructs which we traditionally label 
as “dialects”, “accents”, “styles”, “registers” etc.) seem to 
constitute categories which are analysable according to the models 
provided by Cognitive Linguistics. For one thing, they are analysable 
as categories with a prototype structure. For another, general 
cultural models and conceptual metaphors seem to shape the way 
language users conceptualize language variety and language varieties. 
In the third place, lectal variation is  linguistically meaningful. In 
spite of these perspectives, lectal varieties remain understudied from 
the point of view of Cognitive Linguistics. We would thus like to 
invite researchers working from the perspective of Cognitive 
Linguistics to submit abstracts on issues related to, but not strictly 
limited to, the following topics:

Lectal varieties: passive and active competence
Lectal varieties and social identities
Lectal variation and linguistic meaning 
Varieties, variants and normativity
Lectal varieties as gradable entities
Dialect or style emergence or change


Abstracts should be limited to max. 500 words and clearly state 
research questions, data and methodology. Please submit abstracts 
electronically (preferably in RTF format) to Dirk Geeraerts 
(dirk.geeraerts at arts.kuleuven.ac.be) and  Gitte Kristiansen 
(gkristia at filol.ucm.es) before September 1.


With best wishes,

Gitte Kristiansen (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Dirk Geeraerts (K.U. Leuven)