27.3223, Calls: Applied Linguistics/Italy

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LINGUIST List: Vol-27-3223. Mon Aug 08 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.3223, Calls: Applied Linguistics/Italy

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Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2016 13:47:47
From: Giovanni Agresti [gagresti at unite.it]
Subject: Evaluating Language Policies. Which objectives, criteria, indicators?

 
Full Title: Evaluating Language Policies. Which objectives, criteria, indicators? 
Short Title: DLR / GDL 2016 

Date: 14-Dec-2016 - 16-Dec-2016
Location: Teramo-Giulianova, Italy 
Contact Person: Giovanni Agresti
Meeting Email: gagresti at unite.it
Web Site: http://www.associazionelemitalia.org/le-nostre-azioni/giornate-dei-diritti-linguistici/gdl-2016.html 

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics 

Call Deadline: 24-Aug-2016 

Meeting Description:

The conference aims to explore the purposes and methods of language policies
evaluation in Italy, Europe and beyond. The topic is of great relevance and
urgency, and arises a wide range of interpretations and articulations.

One first focus is predominantly economic and political. Explicitly in this
period of fiscal austerity and economic hardship it becomes essential to
evaluate each public investment policy, including evidently the language
policies. In different European regions where minority languages are spoken,
the need for regular evaluation emerges more and more clearly, on the language
policy authorities' account. And this also shows the need to evaluate the
effectiveness of educational policies of the languages in public education
systems. This applies to the teaching of foreign languages, knowledge of which
is generally associated with economic benefits for the individual and society,
and also to the national languages which are a very important tool to promote
social integration in the working world of growing immigrant masses (and their
relatives).

A second focus holds a more cultural and social nature. Approaching and
working on the evaluation of language policies is to declare taking them
seriously, fully integrating them into the category of public policy. In fact,
in today's world, the culture of the assessment covers and concerns many human
activities, sometimes even excessively and so pervasive, it was not so - not
that much - for linguistic sphere.


Call for Papers:

The failure or spurious, unsatisfactory assessment of language policy has
produced and produces several negative consequences (and perhaps some
positive), which are summed up in the partial darkness of the relationship
between economy, subject, language and Government of the community.

That relationship should therefore be explored, notably by distinguishing
between:

- Policies relating to major world languages and official languages.
- Policies relating to lesser used languages - regional, local or historical
minority - increasingly delegitimized because, precisely because of their
failure or interruption assessment, these policies are widely perceived as a
burden on the community.
- Policies relating to the «new minority languages», which seems to be
considered strategic to promote integration of newly arrived migrant community
that is more geared to dialogue and intercultural promotion than assimilation.

It is therefore necessary to clarify the field knowing that, on the one hand,
these three language policy levels can interact (the enhancement of the
historic local languages, which are often a real hinge between different
States and that in any case are functional to a communication of proximity,
can for example be usefully directed to a more rapid and effective integration
of some new immigrant communities). On the other hand, one needs to ask
oneself, even creatively, about the methods, criteria and indicators to be
taken in order to properly evaluate language policies, precisely because of
the eminently anthropological and social nature of natural languages. The
indicators to be investigated should not be only economic, of course, but also
related to health, to relational goods, the quality of life, social and
inter-generational cohesion, cultural disalienation, environmental
sustainability and so on.

Proposals for papers should be transmitted to both of the following addresses:
info at associacionelemitalia.org and gagresti at unite.it

Under summary form about min. 300 max. 500 words, accompanied by some keywords
and personal contacts (name, surname, institution affiliation, email, phone).
These proposals should be drafted in one of the following languages: Catalan,
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish. 

More information can be found at:
http://www.associazionelemitalia.org/attachments/article/108/EN_Call%20for%20p
apers_DLR%202016.pdf




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