Call for abstracts: Endangered Languages and the Media -- DEADLIN E FOR ABSTRACTS 10 APRIL

[Scott McGinnis]

                  Fifth International Conference
                          hosted by the
                Foundation for Endangered Languages

                "Endangered Languages and the Media"
              ----------------------------------------

              Agadir, Morocco  -   21-24 September 2001

                         CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Among the most powerful instruments of the process we have come to
know as "globalization" are the mass media. Through the medium of the
written and spoken word, the increasingly concentrated ownership of
the worldÕs mass media exercises a strong influence on the hearts and
minds of all but the very remotest of the worldÕs languages. The
pattern of use and control of the worldÕs press and broadcasting has
shifted even faster than the speed of shrinkage of the worldÕs
minority languages.

What exactly is the relationship between the globalization of the
media and increased pressure on minority languages? Is there a
hopeful side, as the cost and technology bases of the media are
revolutionized? The fifth international conference of the Foundation
for Endangered Languages aims to pinpoint the processes and seek new
tactics for coping with them: hoping, at the very least, to channel
some of the power of the media for the good of small languages.

We hope to find answers to many questions, not all of them obvious.
For example:
what effect does the global availability of satellite broadcasting
have on the worldÕs smaller languages?
what is the meaning of a free press if some languages are denied a voice
in it?
must the Internet inevitably exclude smaller languages from access to
the electronic media, or is it ultimately a force for diversity?
is a big fashionable metropolitan language always the guarantee of
commercial success in the music recording industry?
how can speakers of minority languages get access to training in
journalism?
is it the stateÕs responsibility to subsidize broadcasting in
minority languages? Why?
what happens when emigrant communities abroad are better served by
media in their new country than those from their old home?

To  seek answers to these and other questions, the Foundation for
Endangered Languages hereby calls for papers to be presented at its
fifth conference, 'Endangered Languages and the Media', planned for
the University of Agadir, Morocco, for 21-24 September 2001.Ê

It is no coincidence that we choose this venue for the conference, at
the heart of one of the most promising regions of Morocco in terms of
economic activity, but also in terms of  intellectual activity trying
to come to terms with the identity crisis that faces most North
Africans. In Agadir, as in most of Morocco and North Africa, the
streets echo with a polyphony of local and foreign languages:
Tashelhit (Southern Amazigh, known as Berber), Darija (Moroccan
Arabic), as well as Standard Arabic, French, Spanish, English and the
occasional note of German, Italian or Japanese.

Agadir, on the Atlantic coast of southern Morocco, has great sweeping
beaches but  none of the nondescript high rise blocks of the
Mediterranean beach resorts. For those interested in wildlife, in
September the River Sous can provide a rich variety of migrating
seabirds and waders. The river valley itself is one of the most
famous ornithological regions in the country. Agadir was first
settled by Hanno, a Carthaginian explorer on his way south round
Africa in the 5th century BC. 2000 years later, ca 1500, it was
re-founded as a Portuguese staging-post for more sustained
circumnavigation. It came under Moroccan rule around 1536.

We invite contributions not only from the academic disciplines of
linguistics and media studies, but also from active practitioners in
the field Ð those with first-hand experience from which we can learn
of the worldÕs threatened languages and their struggle for survival
and equal status with those of international communication in the
ether and on the printed page. We have much to learn from each other,
and we invite you to share your knowledge and experience with us in
the beautiful setting of an ancient city that has long been at the
crossroads of communication between Europe and Africa. The conference
will also provide ample opportunity to explore the surrounding area
as well.

The Foundation for Endangered Languages is a registered charity in
England and Wales. FEL conferences, besides being opportunities to
discuss the issues from a global viewpoint, are working meetings of
the Foundation, defining our overall policy for future years.
Participants at the conference therefore, unless offering media
coverage, need to be members of the Foundation.  There are full
facilities to join on arrival, but all proposers are strongly urged
to join as soon as possible, and so take full part in the
Foundation's activities in the lead-up to the conference.

Presentations will last twenty minutes each, with a further ten
minutes for discussion.  Authors will be expected to submit a written
paper for publication in the Proceedings well in advance of the
conference.  All presentations should be accessible largely in
English, but use of the languages of interest, for quotation or
exemplification, may well be appropriate.

Organizers:

   Hassan Ouzzate       Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
   Nicholas Ostler      Foundation for Endangered Languages, Bath,
England
   Christopher Moseley  BBC Monitoring Service, England
   Nigel Birch          EPSRC, United Kingdom
   R. McKenna BrownÊÊÊÊ Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

                        ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words. They can be submitted in
either of two ways: (preferably) by electronic submission, but also
on paper.  They should be in English.

A)  Electronic submission:

Electronic submission (by 10 April 2001) should be in plain ascii
text email message, giving the following details:

# NAME : Name of first author
# TITLE: Title of the paper
# EMAIL: E-mail address of the first author
# ADDR:  Postal address of the first author
# TEL:   Telephone number of the first author, if any
# FAX:   Fax number of the first author

and in a separate section

# ABSTR: Abstract of the paper

B)  Paper abstracts:

Three copies should be sent, (again, for delivery by 10 April 2001), to:

Christopher Moseley
2 Wanbourne Lane
Nettlebed
Oxfordshire RG9 5AH
England

(fax +44-1491-641922)

This should have a clear short title, but should not bear
anything to identify the author(s).

On a separate sheet, please include the following information:
NAME : Names of the author(s)
TITLE: Title of the paper
EMAIL: Email address of the first author, if any
ADDR:  Postal address of the first author
TEL:   Telephone number of the first author, if any
FAX:   Fax number of the first author, if any

The name of the first author will be used in all correspondence.

If possible, please also send an e-mail to Christopher Moseley at
<Chris_Moseley at mon.bbc.co.uk> informing him of the hard copy
submission. This is in case the hard copy does not reach its
destination.  This e-mail should contain the information specified in
the section below.

IMPORTANT DATES

Abstract submission deadline              April 10
Notification of Committee's decision      May 14
Authors submit camera-ready text          July 23
Conference                                Sept 21-24
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------
                        Nicholas   Ostler
                            President
               Foundation for Endangered Languages
                   Registered Charity 1070616

              Batheaston Villa,  172 Bailbrook Lane
              Bath           BA1 7AA        England
              +44-1225-85-2865 fax +44-1225-85-9258
                   nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk
                      http://www.ogmios.org
        http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Philosophy/CTLL/FEL/