29.4506, Calls: Anthro Ling, Cog Sci, Genetic Classification, Historical Ling, Typology/Germany

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-29-4506. Wed Nov 14 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.4506, Calls: Anthro Ling, Cog Sci, Genetic Classification, Historical Ling, Typology/Germany

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Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:28:14
From: Antonio Benítez-Burraco [abenitez8 at us.es]
Subject: Prehistoric Languages Beyond the Limits of Comparative Linguistics

 
Full Title: Prehistoric Languages Beyond the Limits of Comparative Linguistics 

Date: 21-Aug-2019 - 24-Aug-2019
Location: Leipzig, Germany 
Contact Person: Antonio Benítez-Burraco
Meeting Email: abenitez8 at us.es

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Cognitive Science; Genetic Classification; Historical Linguistics; Typology 

Call Deadline: 18-Nov-2018 

Meeting Description:

(Session of 52nd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea)

The comparative method has enabled linguists to reconstruct extinct languages
from the past, but it has limitations and shortcomings that seemingly preclude
going back too much in time and which boil down to its methodological
assumptions (heavy reliance on cognates) and the very nature of language
change (which tends to lack directionality, and which interacts with the
effects of contact and borrowing). Nonetheless, ongoing research on diverse
areas suggests that, even if it may not be possible to reconstruct languages
from distant periods with certainty, it is at least possible to improve our
understanding of the basic structural features of prehistoric languages from
remote epochs. It deserves to be mentioned that there have been several
attempts of this nature, including, but not limited to: using genetic data to
support less clear or controversial, deep phylogenetic groupings;
grammaticalization theory; internal reconstruction; and research on the
effects of external factors (nature of social networks, number of speakers,
features of the physical environment) on language structure and complexity.
Because research on paleoclimatology, paleoecology, and paleoanthropology is
providing a sharper and more accurate picture of how our ancestors lived, we
can expect that our understanding of the languages they spoke can improve as
well.

The aim of this workshop is discussing new approaches to the
reconstruction/characterization of prehistoric languages. Because of the
multidisciplinary nature of the topic, researchers from other fields with an
interest in the evolution of human cognition and behavior are also welcome to
contribute.

Specific research questions to be addressed include (but are not limited to): 

- The problems of the comparative method in linguistics and possible ways of
circumventing them
- Linguistic theories that can shed light onto the nature of remote
prehistoric languages
- The evolution of human cognition and its effect on the structure of
prehistoric languages
- Environmental changes in Prehistory and their effects on language structure
- Social changes in Prehistory and their effects on language structure
- The links between language change and cultural transitions in Prehistory


Call for Papers:

To submit an abstract for a 20-minute presentation, please email a PDF (200
words max, plus references) to Antonio Benítez-Burraco at abenitez8 at us.es by
November 18, 2018 (notification of acceptance: November 19). 

Since this workshop is intended to be part of the annual meeting of the SLE
(Leipzig, 21–24 August), the whole workshop proposal has to go into review. If
it is accepted, participants will be asked to submit a full abstract by
January 15, 2019 (see http://sle2019.eu/submission-guidelines  and
http://sle2019.eu/faq  )




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