Call for papers: From ideational to interpersonal: Perspectives from Grammaticalization

[Hubert Cuyckens]

With apologies for cross-postings

FROM IDEATIONAL TO INTERPERSONAL: PERSPECTIVES FROM GRAMMATICALIZATION

Leuven, 10-12 February 2005

FIRST CIRCULAR AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Convenors:
Hubert Cuyckens (Functional Linguistics Research Group, University of Leuven)
Kristin Davidse (Functional Linguistics Research Group, University of Leuven)
Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen (English Department, University of Ghent)

Meeting URL: http://wwwling.arts.kuleuven.ac.be/fitigra


Meeting description:
Since the 1980s, grammaticalization has taken up an important place in the 
research of linguists. Following Traugott, grammaticalization can be 
described as a robust tendency whereby “lexical items and constructions 
come in certain linguistic contexts to serve grammatical functions or 
grammatical items develop new grammatical functions”. Importantly, 
grammaticalization involves “a subset of crosslinguistically recurring 
changes that involve correlations across time between semantic, 
morphosyntactic (and sometimes also) phonological changes.” (Elizabeth C. 
Traugott, 2001. “Legitimate counterexamples to unidirectionality”).

As is well known, one tradition in grammaticalization studies has focused 
on explorations in morphosyntactic change, building on Lehmann’s ([1982] 
1995) seminal study on processes and parameters of grammaticalization. This 
type of grammaticalization research mainly focuses on the change of free 
syntactic units into highly constrained morphemes with a grammatical 
function. A more recent tradition, initiated by Traugott (1982) and 
elaborated, e.g., in Traugott (1989, 1995, 1996), focuses on 
semantic-pragmatic change in grammaticalization. Based on Halliday and 
Hasan’s (1976) proposal that there are three functional domains of 
language, the ideational, the textual, and the interpersonal, she has 
proposed that semantic change in grammaticalization often proceeds along 
the following cline:
         Propositional  >  textual  >  expressive.
This cline has been reformulated as three tendencies which involve 
(increasing) pragmatic strengthening, and in which the tendency towards 
expressiveness/subjectivity is the most prominent.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together papers that examine 
various aspects of grammaticalization within the framework of the clines 
ideational > textual > interpersonal and/or propositional > textual > 
expressive. As such, we welcome contributions addressing (by now) familiar 
issues in grammaticalization such as:
·       auxiliarization, the development of discourse markers, etc.
·       the importance of pragmatic strengthening/invited 
inferencing/subjectification, as they occur in the cognitive-functional 
context of speaker-hearer interaction.

Furthermore, we encourage contributions which, within the framework 
outlined above, take up newer issue that may necessitate a broader 
definition of grammaticalization. These include:

·       the study of shifts such as those from head to modifier (Denison 
2002) or modifier to intensifier (Adamson 2000) in the NP, a grammatical 
environment which has hitherto been relatively neglected in 
grammaticalization theory;
·       the interplay between grammaticalization and lexicalization, with 
the latter understood as the formation of a new lexical item by the 
combination of two formerly distinct lexical items (Fischer & Rosenbach 
2000; Lehmann 2002; Van der Auwera 2002 );
·       the question whether grammaticalization processes can be predicted 
to follow certain structurally determined paths, such as 
center-to-periphery directionality in the NP (Rijkhoff 2002);
·       the role played in the lexicogrammatical re-organization 
accompanying grammaticalization by syntagmatic relations between lexical 
items such as collocation (Sinclair 1991), semantic feature copying 
(Bublitz 1996), semantic prosody (Stubbs 1995), and pragmatic feature copying.

Finally, we also seek contributions that highlight the importance of such 
usage-based factors as frequency and entrenchment for grammaticalization, 
and that, in general, give attention to quantitative data in support of 
grammaticalization processes.

Guest speakers:
Teresa Fanego (University of Santiago de Compostela), Manfred Krug 
(Freiburg University) have confirmed their participation as keynote speakers.

Call for papers:
Papers are invited on the aspects of grammaticalization within the 
framework outlined above. Presentations will be 20 minutes with 10 minutes 
question time.

Abstracts should be between 400 and 500 words (exclusive of references) and 
should state research questions, approach, method, data and (expected) 
results. Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously.

Abstracts should be submitted as Word or as .RTF files. More information on 
how to submit abstracts can be found on the conference website 
http://wwwling.arts.kuleuven.ac.be/fitigra under “Submit Abstract”.

Information on the venue, accommodation, registration fee, travel 
arrangements and social program will be sent out in a second circular 
around the end of August 2004.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 1 November 2004. 
Notification of acceptance will be given by 15 November 2004.