Final Call: ILA Session on Optimal Approaches to Language Change

[D. Eric Holt]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
(Cross-posted to HISTLING, OPTIMAL and LINGUIST; apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message.)

FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS: (abbreviated from the original call)
"OPTIMAL APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE CHANGE"
A special session to be held at the 45th Annual Conference of the
International Linguistic Association, April 7-9, 2000, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

The 45th ILA conference has as its major theme Language Contact/Language Change, and abstracts are solicited for a session on the application of Optimality Theory to language change. To date there has been no gathering dedicated to bringing researchers in this area together to share their work and discuss it as primary issue, rather than as part of a larger more general meeting. This session solicits abstracts related to the analysis of some issue related to historical linguistics and/or to the application of OT to language change from a more general perspective. Submission information is given below.

>From the original ILA call:
The 45th ILA conference will have as its major theme Language Contact/Language Change. While papers on that theme are especially welcomed, abstracts on any subject in theoretical and applied linguistics are also solicited.  Invited speakers: Lila Gleitman, University of Pennsylvania and Lesley Milroy and Sarah Thomason, both of the University of Michigan.  Local host: Father Solomon Sara.

Single-spaced abstracts, bearing the title of the paper (but no author), of not more than 425 words should clearly state the problems or research questions addressed, and should give some indication of results or conclusions. Send via e-mail to the Session organizer (see below). Simultaneously, send via airmail 3 camera-ready hard copies of the abstract, plus a 3x5 card bearing name, title of paper, addresses, affiliation, and audio-visual equipment needed. (Anonymity will be preserved when abstracts are forwarded to the judges.) Presentations will be 20 minutes (plus discussion).  Submissions on diskette will not be accepted. 

Deadline for submission of abstracts for the special session on OT: January 7, 2000.  

Any questions regarding the conference itself may be addressed to either the Conference Chair, Ruth Brend (rbrend at umich.edu) or the Conference Secretary Johanna Woltjer (ilaconf.woltjer at gte.net).  Abstracts designed for this panel will be judged by the general conference committee, who will send direct notification regarding acceptance.

Send e-mail and hard copies of abstracts and 3x5 information card to:

D. Eric Holt
Organizer, ILA session on OT and language change
Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese &
Program in Linguistics
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
holt at sc.edu

[Please send abstracts in one of the following formats, listed in descending order of preference: Word97, RTF, WordPerfect, PDF, or as text in the body of an e-mail message.]