Zurich Conference on Colonial and Postcolonial Language Studies – Changes and Challenges June 4–6, 2018

(biannual conference of the International Association of Colonial and Postcolonial Linguistics http://www.iacpl.net/ )

In postcolonial communities, both colonial history and the experience of decolonization shape cultural norms, transmission of knowledge, and communicative practices. While forces of social change, such as colonialism, globalization, or Americanization, threaten to weaken community ties and endanger linguistic diversity (e.g. Harrison 2007; Edwards 2010), marginalized communities have shown resistance and emancipation by adapting and appropriating new forms of communication and enriching local practices (Mufwene 2008). This has challenged earlier scholarly approaches to postcolonial communities as well as current linguistic scholarship, which seems to limit itself to traditional analytic approaches that are insufficient to fully grasp the linguistic outcomes of these social forces.

This conference aims at bringing together researchers working on all aspects of language use and linguistic practices in colonial and postcolonial settings. Our goal is to explore, describe, and better understand how changing social conditions shape linguistic practices in colonial and postcolonial contexts. In so doing, we want to critically evaluate a number of basic, perhaps Eurocentric, assumptions, such as the loss of linguistic diversity, or the role of the researcher as an active agent within the context in which they work.

The confirmed plenary speakers are

Prof Dr Rajend Mesthrie (Cape Town),

Prof Dr Ana Sobral (Zurich), and

PD Dr Eric Anchimbe (Bayreuth).

Download Program_New (PDF, 94 KB)

Download BookOfAbstracts (PDF, 469 KB)

We warmly welcome you to the conference with an informal apéro meeting at the English Department, Plattenstrasse 47, on Sunday evening, 3 June, at 6 p.m.

There is no conference / registration fee.

We encourage the participation of early career researchers and researchers from underprivileged institutions or regions. If you would like to apply for a travel bursary (subject to availability and qualification), please let us know.

Please register to take part at the conference dinner on Tuesday evening, 7 p.m. (Moroccan buffet-style, CHF 29 pp).

University main building (Kollegiengebäude KOL), entrance Rämistrasse; location of plenaries

 

Location of Kollegiengebäude KOL (location of plenaries)
Please note:

Haupt-Bahnhof on the left margin of the map is Zurich's central train station

the coloured lines and numbers are Zurich trams

the closest tram stops are ETH/Universitätsspital OR Platte

the University lies on a hill overlooking the city

 

 

Walking route from Kollegiengebäude KOL (plenaries) to English Department PLH (sessions); walking distance about 10 minutes

 

 

English Department PLH, Plattenstrasse 47 (location of sessions and conference warming apéro meeting)

This is a child-friendly conference. Please get in touch to inquire about childcare availability.

Note: CfP is now closed.

We invite submissions for 20-minute presentations on empirical, theoretical, or methodological research on any aspect of language use in colonial and postcolonial contexts. These may include, but are not limited to, language policies, language ideologies, and communicative practices in colonial and postcolonial settings, as well as structural aspects of postcolonial varieties. We are particularly interested in critical views on basic assumptions in both linguistic theory and methodology. Please send your 300-word abstracts (excl. references) to iacpl@es.uzh.ch by January 28, 2018.

Fields: Anthropological linguistics, Historical sociolinguistics, Language documentation, Missionary linguistics, Language contact

Deadline Call for Papers: January 28, 2018

Notification of Acceptance: February 28, 2018

Conference dates: June 4–6, 2018