Presentation
We are pleased to announce the International Conference on Heritage Languages around the world, which will take place at the University of Lisbon as a joint initiative of the Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Humanísticos da Universidade do Minho, the Portuguese Program and the Heritage Language Research Group at UMass Amherst. This initiative is also supported by Camões. Instituto da Coperação e da Língua and the recently created European Heritage Language Consortium.
In the last two decades, Heritage Languages have received growing attention, both in the field of bilingualism studies and in research concerned with the preservation and revitalization of endangered languages. They have been under the scrutiny of linguists, especially of those working on bilingual language acquisition and on sociolinguistics, as well as language policy makers, language activists, and researchers in education. For linguists interested in bilingualism, heritage speakers represent not only a large part of the bilingual population, but also a case in which it is possible to study the effects of different amounts of exposure and of crosslinguistic influence on a population in which birth is maintained as the age of onset for the heritage language. From the viewpoint of sociolinguistics, heritage languages raise several questions, including which conditions determine linguistic preservation or attrition, or the significance of the fact that heritage speakers are often exposed to only a non-standard variety of the heritage language. Finally, in the area of studies on endangered languages, an important focus has been placed on strategies for the revitalization of heritage languages as a means to preserve linguistic diversity.
The recognition of the specificities of heritage speakers and heritage languages in multilingual societies is what justifies the relevance of the topic for policy makers and for researchers interested in language education and language policies.
The main goal of this conference is to bring together various research perspectives on heritage languages in order to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of language development and education in immigrant and minority language communities around the world.
We welcome submissions on the following topics:
1) Linguistic properties of heritage languages in child and adult bilinguals
2) The role of input and cross-linguistic influence in heritage language acquisition
3) Research methods in heritage language development
4) Understudied heritage languages (e.g. Native American, African and Asian languages)
5) New trends in heritage language education
6) Heritage language policies
7) Attitudes and identity in heritage languages
8) Heritage languages and the preservation of linguistic diversity
Keynote speakers:
- Peter Austin (University of London) [CV]
Issues and challenges in language endangerment and heritage languages: some Australian examples
- Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (University of Hamburg) [CV]
At the interface of heritage language learning and teacher education: motorways, short-cuts and no-go areas
- Naomi Nagy (University of Toronto) [CV]
Promoting linguistic and cultural diversity through Heritage Language Sociolinguistics
- Jason Rothman (University of Tromso) [CV]
Theoretical Epistemology and Methodology in Heritage Language Bilingualism
Abstracts for a 20-minute oral presentation or a poster presentation on any subject relating to the topics listed above will be accepted from May 15 to October 15, 2019. Abstracts should be written in English, should be a maximum of 5000 characters (including references) and anonymized to exclude any identifiable information. Authors may submit a total of two abstracts, one individual and one joint (or two joint).
Organizing Committee
Ana Lúcia Santos (ULisboa)
Cristina Flores (UMinho)
Luiz Amaral (UMass Amherst)
Hugo Cardoso (ULisboa)
Scientific Committee
Alan Baxter, Aldona Sopata, Alexandra Schmidt, Ana Maria Carvalho, Ana Maria Madeira, Ana Souza, Anabela Rato, Anamaria Bentea, Andrés Napurí, Anika Lloyd-Smith, Anna Fenyvesi, Ayse Gürel, Bernhard Brehmer, Clancy Clements, Corinne A. Seals, Danielle Thomas, Dave Miller, David Bradley, Diego Pascual y Cabo, Durk Gorter, Eduardo Alves, Elma Blom, Enoch Aboh, Esther Rinke, Eva-Maria Roessler, Fatih Bayram, Fatima Silva, Faubrice Jumont, Flavia Belpoliti, Glaucia Silva, Guelsen Yilmaz, Holger Hopp, Hulk, Aafke, Isabel Falé, Isabelle Simões Marques, Jacopo Torregrossa, Jason Rothman, Jennifer Leeman, Johanne Paradis, Joshua Bousquette, Khadij Gharibi, Kimberly Potowski, Karumuri V. Subbarao, Larisa Avram, Laurie Tuller, Lenore Grenoble, Leonie Cornips, Lesya A. Granger, Letícia Almeida, Liliana Sanchez, Lillian Gorman, Ludovica Serratrice, Mani Bhasin Kalra, Maria Carmen Parafita Couto, Maria de Lurdes Gonçalves, Maria do Carmo Lourenço Gomes, Maria João Freitas, Maria Lobo, Maria Polinsky, Marina Vigário, Marit Westergaard, Michele Koven, Michelle Ramos Pellicia, Mike Putnam, Natalia Meir, Neal Snape, Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl, Olga Solovova, Paolo Coluzzi, Patricia Gubitosi, Paulina Łyskawa, Philippe Prévost, Pilar Barbosa, Rajend Mesthrie, Sharon Unsworth, Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer, Sónia Frota, Soung-U Kim, Stefanie Pillai, Suzanne Aalberse, Suzi Lima, Tal Goldfajn, Talia Bugel, Tanja Kupisch, Tanja Rinker, Terje Lohndal, Themistoklis Aravossitas, Tihana Krás, Tugba Karayayla, Vicky Chondrogianni, Victor Fernandez Mallat, Yulia Rodina, Zuzanna Fuchs
► Center for Humanistic Studies of the University of Minho
► Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa
► Portuguese Program at UMass Amherst
This conference has a partnership with the MDPI journal 'Languages':
Languages is an international, peer-reviewed open access journal on interdisciplinary studies of languages and linguistics, indexed in ERIH Plus. The journal welcomes contributions within any theoretical, experimental or applied approach.
