[Lingtyp] Sessions about language at the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences XI in 2024

[Kantarovich, Jessica]

Please see below for information about two sessions on languages of the Arctic that are planned for next year's ICASS meeting in Bodø, Norway from 29 May to 3 June, 2024. ICASS does not typically have a strong showing from linguists and we hope to change that at next year's meeting!

Abstracts (250 words) are being accepted now, until 5th January 2024 at 17:00 CET. You can submit your abstract through the ICASS website<https://www.arcticcongress.com/call-for-abstracts>.


The sessions focus on two dimensions of language use in the Arctic setting: questions of language structure and questions of language maintenance, vitality, and revitalization. We welcome submissions across different theoretical and methodological approaches within both linguistics and applied linguistics.


4.3.5 Language structure and language use in a changing Arctic

Convener:
Jessica Kantarovich

Arctic communities are currently the sites of rapid change, both social and climatological: globalization, coupled with warming temperatures, has made Arctic regions more accessible than ever before. In particular, urban areas are seeing increasing numbers of migrants in search of work as well as (eco-)tourists interested in visiting the remote cities and landscapes of the Far North. Remote Arctic areas are also increasingly "plugged in," with more reliable access to the internet and, in turn, far-ranging modes of communication and information-sharing. The result has been increasing cultural and linguistic contact between Arctic peoples and outsiders (i.e., speakers of majority languages), as well as among different Arctic communities that are separated by enormous geographic distances.

Differences in societal structure have long been thought to condition differences in language structure and use, particularly when comparing small-scale intimate societies and urban settings with ever-changing social networks. This session invites papers that engage with the ways that changing social ecologies are affecting all aspects of language use in the Arctic, including (but not limited to) language structure, multilingualism and translanguaging, and language identity and ideology. Examples of potential topics might be contact-induced change, code-switching, the emergence of new mixed languages, linguistic landscapes, urban language/metrolingualism, and language variation.

While submissions that relate to this session's theme about language in the context of changing conditions in Arctic communities are preferred, we welcome all submissions about the linguistic structure of Arctic languages, from descriptive, anthropological, typological, or formal perspectives.

Unique Session ID = 634

4.3.4 Strengthening Indigenous language vitality in the Arctic

Convener:
Lenore Grenoble

In recognition of the importance of language to Indigenous identity and culture, UNESCO has declared 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. In the Arctic, a significant percentage of the population is Indigenous, and Arctic Indigenous languages are experiencing considerable pressure due to a variety of factors. These include climate change, economic development, and migrations (both permanent and temporary), a massive increase in tourism and a massive increase in internet availability, which introduces yet another pathway for language entry. These factors combine to bring in more speakers of majority languages, newcomers and outsiders who put pressure on Indigenous residents to communicate in the national language and/or English, the global lingua franca. Despite the challenges they face, Arctic peoples are embracing use of their languages and developing their languages to meet the needs of future generations.

In this session we welcome papers that discuss methods for bolstering Indigenous language vitality and sustainability, with attention to both successes and challenges. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): language revitalization, formal education programs, the development of digital content, pedagogical and reference materials aimed at increasing language knowledge, the role of literacy and orthographies in bolstering language mechanisms for fostering language use, and the implementation of L2 language programs for Indigenous groups and outsiders.

Unique Session ID = 611




Jessica Kantarovich

Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
The Ohio State University
kantarovich.3 at osu.edu<mailto:kantarovich.3 at osu.edu>


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