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Symposium Research Methods in Language Attitudes

*CANCELLED* Symposium Research Methods in Language Attitudes | 2nd–3rd July 2020

UPDATE

We are sorry to have to share with you our recent decision to cancel the symposium due to ongoing planning insecurities caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

 

As from April 2021, this page will no longer be updated.

 

 

In the current context of rapidly increasing globalisation and migration, where contact with different linguistic groups is becoming the norm for more and more individuals and communities, language attitudes research is gaining great importance – because language attitudes not only mirror but also affect intergroup relations in contact situations. Due to their pervasiveness, language attitudes are an integral part of the social psychology of language, the sociology of language, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and communication studies. Given the prevalence of language attitudes and the highly interdisciplinary nature of their studies, this symposium will foster exchanges about methodological protocols and innovations as well as best practices in language attitudes research.

The symposium will consist of several panels of talks and discussions by invited experts from around the world as well as an open-call poster session for postgraduate and early career researchers working on language attitudes. For postgraduate and early career researchers, the conference is an excellent opportunity to present methodological aspects of their own work and receive expert feedback.

The invited talks and discussions deal with the three main types of methods by means of which language attitudes can be investigated – the analysis of the societal treatment of languages, direct methods, and indirect methods of attitude elicitation – as well as key overarching issues in language attitudes research. The methods talks and discussions will cover both well-established as well as cutting-edge approaches (including various types of ethnographic and observational studies, questionnaires, interviews, variable analysis, and different experimental methods). The talks and discussions regarding overarching issues will deal with aspects of attitudes research that go beyond individual methods (namely researching language attitudes in multilingual communities, in signing communities, and based on historical data, as well as the use of priming and mixed-methods approaches in language attitudes research).

Case studies based on the experts’ own research will be presented to illustrate key methodological issues. These case studies deal with a wide range of languages and varieties: Danish, German, Dutch, Yiddish, Breton, Welsh, Cypriot Greek, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, European and Quebec French, English in the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the South Pacific, as well as International, American, Indonesian and Flemish Sign Language.

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Call for posters

We invite submissions from postgraduate and early career researchers for poster presentations on any methodological aspect of language attitudes research. These poster presentations may pertain to both current and future research.

Download Call for posters (PDF, 63 KB)

Please send your 300-word abstracts (excl. references) by 28th February 2020. Please note that the conference language is English.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

There are no registration fees for poster presenters, and drinks and snacks during the coffee breaks are also free. We are currently unable to provide financial support in the form of travel bursaries or funding for the lunches and conference dinner, but we will update this website if and when this changes.

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Programme

Download Preliminary programme (PDF, 64 KB)

We warmly welcome you to the conference with an informal reception at the English Department, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 47, on Wednesday evening, 1st July, at 6 p.m.

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Important dates

Deadline for poster abstracts: 28th February 2020

Notification of acceptance: 31st March 2020

Symposium dates: 2nd–3rd July 2020

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Child care

This is a child-friendly conference. Please get in touch if you would like us to organise childcare for you.

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Weiterführende Informationen

Contact

Lena Zipp

Department of Comparative Language Science

University of Zurich

Thurgauerstrasse 30

CH-8050 Zurich

Email

Funding gratefully acknowledged:

SNSF

SNSF Scientific Exchanges Grant

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GRC Grants

UZH Graduate Campus Grant

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UZH Alumni

Alumni Tagungsfonds

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UZH VAUZ

VAUZ Tagungsfonds

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Mercator Logo

Mercator European Research Center on Multilingualism and Language Learning

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English Department

City and Canton of Zurich