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Multilingual Spaces

Multilingual Spaces

Publié le par Alexandre Gefen (Source : BAIMADA and NDZOTOM)

Multilingual   Spaces: Stakes, Practices, Uses and Management

Call for papers

Until the 90s, interest in space among linguists was very high when it served as the main backbone of dialectology, with its influence on variationism and the classification of languages. Actually, it was soon found that this geographical approach to language studies which somehow neglected supranational and standard varieties, needed to be envisaged from a fresher perspective. However, although the shift was actually made, especially in the seminal HSK series titled Language and Space by Peter Auer and Erich Schmidt, space in language studies always seems to be requesting, perhaps not new ways but, different modalities and orientations. In fact, space is not just geographical and cultural. It can be construed, from a sociolinguistic point of view, as any consistently identifiable unit wherein language use can be said to pertinently differ from other parallel units. In that vein, it can be geographical, temporal, human, cultural, topical, or combine any two or more of these to form new and complex spaces.

It is commonly agreed that multilingualism is the rule rather than the exception, contrary to old beliefs. This consensus means that, whatever space one considers, multilingualism is a reality. The main issue here is definitional. In effect, what one considers as space determines the whole endeavour and dictates theoretical and practical problems associated with its treatment.

This collaborative work tackles multilingual spaces from three main perspectives, namely:

  • The individual space,
  • The domain, and
  • The geographical space.

All from the perspective of how space influences the use and practice of languages, and also how the practices and uses of languages transform spaces, with stakes in both aspects very high.

Interested researchers are advised to address the question, both methodological and practical, from any of the following axes:

  • Space and bilingualism
  • Language practices in religion: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices in the household
  • Language practices in the classroom: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices among multilingual youngsters: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices in multilingual adult communication: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices in women/men conversations: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices and language death: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices and language maintenance: Methodological and practical perspectives
  • Language practices at the workplace: Methodological and practical perspectives

Submission procedure: Interested contributors are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 200 words, clearly stating the purpose, methodology and findings of the paper. The following information should appear on the proposal: a) Title of the paper; b) Name and affiliation of author(s); and c) email address of corresponding author. The proposal shall be sent to baimada.gigla@gmail.com or awnmbakop@gmail.com

Review procedure: Blind peer-reviewed

 

Timeline

  • 2 April 2017: deadline for the submission of abstracts
  • 7 May 2017: report on abstract review – rejection and acceptance of proposals are notified
  • 3 September 2017: submission of full papers

 

Format of proposal: submissions shall be in Microsoft Word format, size 13, and double spacing.