Conference Support: Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

The National Science Foundation will support the third symposium on Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (LAVIS III), to be held at the University of Alabama, April 15-17, 2004. LAVIS III will provide a forum for scholarly exchange on a number of issues related to language in the South. Historical emphases will include the role of indigenous languages and trade jargons, links to the Caribbean, and the nature of the European linguistic mix. Contemporary emphases will include the complex relationship between black and white speech, current language contact, perceptual dialectology, discourse analysis and pragmatics, language ideology, and the representation of Southern speech in the media. The symposium will also showcase the latest applications in quantitative analyses of linguistic data, as well as other new methods. LAVIS III will stimulate the development of new knowledge of Southern dialectology. Published and on-line resources associated with the symposium will make the latest research widely accessible. The symposium will also promote teaching and learning through special sessions planned in collaboration with the University of Alabama's College of Education and local school districts to provide professional development for K-12 teachers. The symposium will broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (especially Native Americans, African-Americans, and Latinos) through sessions oriented to their concerns and through outreach to attract them to the conference. The larger society will benefit in two direct ways. One is from the transmission of sociolinguistic knowledge that will inform the practice of K-12 teachers in the public schools, facilitating a more positive engagement with linguistically diverse students. Another, more immediate, impact will be from public lectures oriented to a general audience to enhance public understanding of language issues through topics of general interest (e.g., Choctaw code talkers).