<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-GB" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">The Aston Centre for Interdisciplinary Research into Language and Identity<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">(InterLand) and Institute for the Study of Language and Society (ISLS)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Call for papers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">REGIONAL VARIETIES, LANGUAGE SHIFT AND LINGUISTIC IDENTITIES<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Aston University, 12.-14. September 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Plenary Speakers: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Prof. Joan Beal, University of Sheffield (UK)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Prof. Barbara Johnstone, Carnegie Mellon University (USA)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Prof. Yaron Matras, University of Manchester (UK)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Regional varieties have become an important contributor to identity construction processes, and an increasingly important issue for the individual and the community in late Modernity: the individual is under
constant and increasing pressure to define who s/he is and has to choose from an ever growing pool of possibilities to construct social identity in an increasingly globalized world, which is perceived as incromprehensively complex. By referring to what is
seen as traditional regional language, dialect and culture, localizing oneself seems to be a viable way out of this dilemma. This should have stabilizing effects on lesser used varieties, which have been facing a gradual process of language shift and divergence
towards dominant contact languages over the hundred years. Unfortunately, at the same time, modern life does not so much require knowledge of regional varieties as of standard languages and a good command of English as the global lingua franca. How can an
upwardly mobile individual combine the requirements of modern life with identity construction on a regional scale if they so choose? What are the linguistic consequences for lesser used varieties and their respective contact languages?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Focussing on the individual speaker and the speech community which is created by the use of language(s) as social practice, the conference organizers welcome papers and posters on the following fields of research:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Language contact between a lesser used regional variety and a dominant standard language.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Identity and regional varieties;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Indexicality and enregisterment;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Variation and style;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Postvernacular linguistic and cultural practices;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Emblematic language use and language mixing;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Lesser used regional varieties and the Internet;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• Regional varieties and linguistic landscapes;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">• New approaches to dialectology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Deadline for call of papers: 31. March 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Abstracts for posters and papers should be no longer than 500 words plus references. Please submit one copy with contributors details and one anonymous copy, both in Word format, to
<a href="mailto:lss_rvc@aston.ac.uk">lss_rvc@aston.ac.uk</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Dr Esther Asprey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Research Associate,
</span><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">West Midlands Speech and Society project</span><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">InterLanD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">LSS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Aston University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Aston Triangle<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">BIRMINGHAM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">B4 7ET<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">0121 204 4965<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>