MINELRES: Fwd: CfP: Foundation for Endangered Languages: On the Margins of
Nations: Endangered Languages, Barcelona, 1-3 October 2004
MINELRES moderator
[email protected]
Thu Mar 4 19:14:03 2004
Original sender: Multiethnic List <[email protected]>
Call for Abstracts: FEL VIII - Linguistic Rights
The Foundation for Endangered Languages:
Eighth Conference in cooperation with INSTITUT
D'ESTUDIS CATALANS (UNESCO CHAIR)
Barcelona, 1-3 October 2004
On the Margins of Nations: Endangered Languages and Linguistic Rights
The Foundation for Endangered Languages' annual meeting comes back to
Europe this year, specifically to Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia,
on Spain's eastern seaboard. Our topic will be "endangered languages and
linguistic rights", addressed both through reports on actual experience,
and through prescriptions for policy.
All approaches will be welcome, but three aspects of this vast field are
especially suggested for discussion:
1. The politics of language from the grass-roots activity to political
institutions at all levels: how are linguistic rights acknowledged and,
where necessary, enforced? How can communities act to defend them?
2. The interplay of the global and the local in linguistic rights -
international, national and local: how are identities being redefined in
post-nationist discourses?
3. Endangered languages and linguistic rights crossing borders: what
rights can be asserted and duties accepted in diaspora situations, in
divided language communities and where languages are spoken by migrant
groups?
We view language politics and language policy simultaneously from the
bottom up and the top down. Language communities' struggle for rights
may take different forms and pursue different goals.
* What claims are the communities making?
* What are the goals of grass-roots action?
* To what extent can one language community take advantage of another's
goals and methods?
* Can any effective language policies be developed top-down?
* How do such policies affect the acknowledgement and enforcement of
linguistic rights, from bare toleration up to strong promotion of
endangered languages?
* Is positive discrimination necessary in order to achieve equality
among languages in a community?
* Where language revitalization programs are in progress, how are duties
shared among speaker communities and political powers?
* Is there any way to assess language policies / language revitalization
programmes and their effectiveness?
In a world with ever heightened communications, the interplay between
the local and the global is increasingly complex. We need to analyse the
status of endangered languages with respect to linguistic rights and
politics, which now extend beyond the nation to supranational and global
organizations. How relevant, for example, are international measures and
recommendations, such as UNESCO's Declaration on Cultural Diversity
(2002), Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage
(1998) and proposal for a "Convention sur la diversite culturelle"
(2003)?
Most endangered languages and communities are enclaves within the limits
of a state. Others, however, spread across political and other
boundaries. Borders may be considered as either barriers or
opportunities. We shall focus on the causes and consequences of these
situations:
* How does this cross-border situation affect people's linguistic
rights?
* What kind of policies are favoured by governments towards such divided
language communities?
* What kind of international agreements have been / may be developed to
manage the issue?
* What happens when the linguistic situation is uneven across a
community, with differing rates of language shift or language
revitalization?
One social effect of globalization is an increase in migration. This
poses other issues:
* What are the rights of diaspora and migrant communities?
* What are the rights and duties of immigrants in their host country?
* What are the rights of nomadic people?
This discussion of rights may end up posing interesting challenges to
the kind of discourse that has become usual about endangered languages,
which has tended to emphasize the intrinsic value of diversity. But
ultimately, we may need to engage in quite different discourses for
different audiences. Different communities
too may prefer to rely on different lines of argument, and quite
different strategies.
Abstract Submission
Abstracts should not exceed 500 words. They should be submitted in two
ways: by electronic submission and also on paper. They will be accepted
in English and Catalan.
1. Electronic submission: Electronic submission (by 19 March 2004)
should be as attachment in Word or format in email message to
<[email protected]>
Please fill in the subject domain as follows:
FEL_Abstract
2. Paper abstracts: Three copies should be sent (by 19 March 2004) to:
Dr. Joan A. Argenter
C� tedra UNESCO de Llengües i Educaci-
VIII FEL Conference
Institut d'Estudis Catalans
Carrer del Carme, 47
E-08001 Barcelona
Catalonia, Spain
This should have a clear short title, but should not bear anything to
identify the author(s). On a separate sheet, enclosed in an envelope,
please include the following information:
NAME : Names of the author(s)
TITLE: Title of the paper
EMAIL: Email address of the first author, if any
ADDRESS: Postal address of the first author
TEL: Telephone number of the first author, if any
FAX: Fax number of the first author, if any
The name of the first author will be used in all correspondence. If
possible, please also send an e-mail to Joan A. Argenter
<[email protected]> informing him of the hard copy submission. This is
in case the hard copy does not reach its destination. This e-mail should
contain the information specified in the above section.
Oral presentations will last twenty minutes each, with a further ten
minutes for discussion. Plenary lectures will last forty-five minutes
each. Authors will be expected to submit a written paper with the full
version of the lecture for publication in the proceedings well in
advance of the conference.
Important Dates
* Abstract submission deadline 19 March 2004
* Committee's decision 12 April 2004
* In case of acceptance, the full paper should be sent before 18 June
2004.
(Further details on the format of text will be specified to the authors)
* Conference 1-3 October 2004
Nicholas Ostler
Foundation for Endangered Languages
UK Registered Charity 1070616
http://www.ogmios.org
<http://www.ogmios.org/>
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Philosophy/CTLL/FEL/
<http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Philosophy/CTLL/FEL/>
Batheaston Villa, 172 Bailbrook Lane
Bath BA1 7AA
England
tel: +44-1225-85-2865
fax +44-1225-85-9258
e-mail: [email protected]
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