35.3578, Confs: SLE Workshop 2025: Isomorphism and Optionality in Language

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-35-3578. Wed Dec 18 2024. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 35.3578, Confs: SLE Workshop 2025: Isomorphism and Optionality in Language

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Date: 16-Dec-2024
From: Benoît Leclercq [benoit.leclercq at univ-lille.fr]
Subject: SLE Workshop 2025: Isomorphism and Optionality in Language


SLE Workshop 2025: Isomorphism and Optionality in Language

Date: 26-Aug-2025 - 29-Aug-2025
Location: Bordeaux, France
Contact: Benoît Leclercq
Contact Email: benoit.leclercq at univ-lille.fr
Meeting URL: https://societaslinguistica.eu/sle2025/

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

Meeting Description:

Convenors:
Benoît Leclercq (Université de Lille) - benoit.leclercq at univ-lille.fr
Cameron Morin (Université Paris Cité) - cameron.morin at u-paris.fr

FULL WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION HERE:
https://www.academia.edu/126356932/Workshop_SLE_Isomorphism_vs_Optionality_in_language
FULL DETAILS FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION:
https://societaslinguistica.eu/sle2025/third-call-for-papers/

Key words: Isomorphism, optionality, cognitive linguistics,
sociolinguistics, Construction Grammar

This workshop aims to bring together usage-based functionalists and
variationist sociolinguists, two groups that have often been seen as
making contradictory claims about the nature of isomorphism and
optionality in language. Functionalists tend to consider that language
is geared towards exclusive mappings of form and meaning, adhering to
principles of isomorphism (Haiman 1980: 516), contrast (Clark 1987),
no synonymy (Goldberg 1995: 67), or no equivalence (Leclercq & Morin
2023). By contrast, variationists tend to express skepticism towards
the “doctrine of form-function symmetry” (Poplack 2018: 7) on the
grounds that language is rife with “alternative ways of saying ‘the
same’ thing” (Labov 1972: 188). From this perspective, language would
instead appear to align with a principle of optionality (Szmrecsanyi,
Gardner & van Hoey to appear). The tension between these perspectives
raises profound questions about how linguistic structures balance
cognitive pressures for systematicity with the fluidity of real-world
usage.
Through this workshop, we aim to rekindle Hollmann’s (2017: 542)
incentive “to bring scholars from both fields around the same table”
to explore the extent to which these seemingly divergent perspectives
“can be reconciled” (De Smet 2019: 305). Specifically, we seek to
examine whether common ground can be established between the
principles of isomorphism and optionality, opening avenues for a more
integrated understanding of the interplay between form, function and
variation in language. For instance, how might the cognitive pressures
posited by functionalists - such as economy, optimal expressivity, and
communicative efficiency - interact with the sociolinguistic realities
of variation and choice? Are the principle of isomorphism and
optionality fundamentally complementary, representing different levels
or domains of linguistic analysis, or do they reflect deeper
theoretical and methodological divides that must be addressed? By
addressing these foundational questions, we hope to contribute to a
more comprehensive theory of language that accounts for both its
structured regularities and its inherent variability, ultimately
enriching linguistic research across diverse paradigms.
The workshop will start with an introduction by the organizers and
will be concluded with a final discussion. Please feel free to contact
the convenors if you have any further questions.

- deadline for abstracts: 15 January 2025
- notification of acceptance/rejection: 31 March 2025

Abstracts should clearly state the research questions, approach,
method, data and (expected) results. They should not contain the names
of the presenters, nor their affiliations or addresses, or any other
information that could reveal their authorship. They should not exceed
500 words (including examples, excluding references).

For more information, please visit the conference website.



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