HELM2020: Heritage Languages and Multilingualism Cyprus University of Technology Lemesos, Cyprus, June 5-6, 2020 |
Conference website | https://cyprusheritagelanguages.com/ |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=helm2020 |
Submission deadline | March 2, 2020 |
We are pleased to announce the International Conference on Heritage Languages and Multilingualism (HELM), which will take place at Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol on June 5–6, 2020. The HELM conference will create an opportunity for scholars, students, and educators interested in sharing their knowledge and expertise in the field of heritage languages, language acquisition, multilingualism, and grammar. The conference is funded by the University of Cyprus internal grant entitled The Gradience of Lingualities (GoL): Language Acquisition in Minority Contexts, Incomplete Linguistic Competence and Theoretical Modeling in Heritage Speakers, and Vernacular Varieties (PI: Kleanthes K. Grohmann).
Heritage languages, especially in minority contexts and endangered languages, have attracted the interest of those working on multilingualism, bilingualism, and language acquisition as well as language policy makers. Some of the common questions raised in this research are the exposure and influence on a particular population by a dominant language, the age of exposure to input from the dominant language, the grammar properties affected by it, and the overall competence of the heritage language population when compared to baseline speakers, i.e. native speakers of the same language (Polinsky 2018). Heritage languages also raise interesting questions when compared to multilingual societies where the dynamics between languages define them as standard and non-standard. Data from multilingual speakers are important since they involve grammars that often interact in interesting ways that a theory of possible mental grammars needs to incorporate (Scontras et al. 2015). The need for identifying the linguistic properties that characterize heritage language speakers in multilingual societies within a broader concept of ‘comparative lingualities’ (Grohmann & Kambanaros 2016) explains the focus that is placed on heritage languages, their recognition, and preservation for the advancement of linguistic theory.
References
Grohmann, Kleanthes K. & Maria Kambanaros. 2016. The gradience of multilingualism in typical and impaired language development: Positioning bilectalism within comparative bilingualism. Frontiers in Psychology 7, https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00037.
Polinsky, Maria. 2018. Heritage Languages and Their Speakers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107047648
Scontras, Gregory, Zuzanna Fuchs, & Maria Polinsky. 2015. Heritage language and linguistic theory. Frontiers in Psychology 6, https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01545.
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts for presentations and posters on any field of study relating to heritage languages will be accepted until March 2, 2020. Presentations will last 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion. Authors should indicate whether they prefer an oral or a poster presentation. The abstract can be submitted to https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=helm2020.
Abstracts must be written in English, should be a maximum of two pages (including references) and anonymized to exclude any identifiable information. Authors may submit a total of two abstracts, one individual and one joint.
List of Topics
We welcome submissions related to HELM at large, including any of the following topics:
- What are common grammar properties across heritage languages?
- Can we develop diagnostics for heritage language speakers?
- How do heritage language differ or look similar to other contexts of multilingualism?
- What is the role of input in heritage language acquisition?
- How does language contact affect heritage language development?
- What are the research methods that best apply in heritage language study?
- How do language policies or identity interact with heritage language development?
Committees
Organizing committee
Kleanthes K. Grohmann (University of Cyprus)
Natalia Pavlou (University of Cyprus)
Invited Speakers
Maria Polinsky (University of Maryland)
Artemis Alexiadou (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Maria Kambanaros (Cyprus University of Technology)
Svetlana Karpava (University of Cyprus)
Contact
Natalia Pavlou (University of Cyprus) at pavlou.natalia@ucy.ac.cy