20.4444, Calls: Computational Ling/Netherlands

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LINGUIST List: Vol-20-4444. Mon Dec 21 2009. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 20.4444, Calls: Computational Ling/Netherlands

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1)
Date: 21-Dec-2009
From: Willem Zuidema < jzuidema at science.uva.nl >
Subject: Models of Language Evolution: Does the Math Add Up?
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:05:15
From: Willem Zuidema [jzuidema at science.uva.nl]
Subject: Models of Language Evolution: Does the Math Add Up?

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Full Title: Models of Language Evolution: Does the Math Add Up? 

Date: 14-Apr-2010 - 14-Apr-2010
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands 
Contact Person: Willem Zuidema
Meeting Email: jzuidema at science.uva.nl
Web Site: http://staff.science.uva.nl/~jzuidema/mole2010/ 

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics 

Call Deadline: 31-Jan-2010 

Meeting Description:

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest in mathematical and
computational models of language evolution. Formal modelling is seen by
increasingly many in the field as an approach to ensure internal consistency of
evolutionary scenarios. However, there has been relatively little attention to
the question of how well the many different models fit together. Are they
consistent with and complementary to each other? Is there a series of models
that really covers the evolutionary emergence of modern language from a
prelinguistic, ancestral state? Are the assumptions that go into a particular
model, if not justified by empirical findings, made plausible by results from
other models? This workshop will bring together the main researchers in the
field of language evolution modelling to discuss the assumptions that go into
their models, the place of these models in scenarios of language origins
and the relation to other models. The topics of the workshop are discussed
in detail in a position paper by its organizers, available at

http://staff.science.uva.nl/~jzuidema/mole2010/ . 

Call for Papers

Contributions are sought in the form of extended abstracts, with a maximum
of 4 pages following the formatting instructions of the main conference (see
http://evolang2010.nl under 'submissions'). All submissions should be sent in
pdf-format as an email attachment to moleworkshop2010 at gmail.com. Although
contributions on the evolution of all aspects of language will be
acceptable, and abstracts that discuss experimental data or formal modeling
are preferred, contributions will need to be explicitly linked to one or
more of the issues raised in this position paper. Dissenting views are
especially welcome! 

Topics of interests are (but are not limited to):
- The evolution of articulatory control mechanisms
- The descent of the larynx
- The evolution of combinatorial phonology, compositionality and duality of
patterning
- The evolution of hierarchical phrase-structure and recursion
- The evolution of syntactic categories
- Modelling methodology, critique of model-based approaches to language
evolution

Special issue
Contributors to the workshop will be invited to submit a paper for a special
issue of a major journal on the same theme. Details will follow in due time.

Models of Language Evolution - Does the Math Add Up?

Workshop to be held April 14th at Evolang 2010, Utrecht

Important dates:
Sunday 31 January 2010: deadline for submission of extended abstracts
Sunday 14 Feb 2010: notification of acceptance
Wednesday 14 April 2010: workshop
Thursday 15 - Saturday 17 April 2010: main conference
June 2010: deadline for special issue submissions

Organisers
Willem Zuidema (ILLC Language & Computation, University of Amsterdam)
Bart de Boer (ACLC Phonetics, University of Amsterdam)





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