Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 08:29:08 -0700

From: "Garland D. Bills" gbills[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UNM.EDU

Subject: Final Call: Symposium on Language Loss & Public Policy



FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS



Symposium on Language Loss and Public Policy



To be held in conjunction with the

1995 Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA



June 30-July 2, 1995



The Symposium organizers are pleased to report that there has

been a very strong response to the initial request for

expressions of interest in presenting papers. Consequently, the

Symposium will definitely be held as scheduled in spite of the

lack of funds to provide travel assistance. Interested persons

who were unable to respond earlier are encouraged to meet the

January 31, 1995, deadline for receipt of abstracts.



As announced previously, the Symposium on Language Loss and

Public Policy will bring together scholars from different

disciplines to discuss the linguistic, psycholinguistic,

sociolinguistic, cultural, and policy aspects of language loss.

LANGUAGE LOSS is used here in its broadest sense to subsume three

areas of investigation:



(1) the ATTRITION of native language skills by

individual members of indigenous and immigrant

communities;

(2) societal SHIFT from the use of the native ethnic

language to the use of a dominant official

language; and

(3) the consequent DEATH of the subordinate language.



There are clear interrelationships among these three areas in the

societal conditions that give rise to loss, in the linguistic

processes involved in loss, in the consequences of loss for

individuals and societies, and in the implications for policy

intervention. The intent of the Symposium is to have the

presenters explore these interrelationships with each other and

with other participants in the 1995 Linguistic Institute.



The Symposium has two central objectives. The first is to share

the accumulated knowledge in the three areas of language loss in

order to arrive at a more global understanding of the phenomenon.

What are the underlying social and sociopsychological forces that

contribute to attrition, shift, and death? What are the

relationships among the linguistic processes in loss? What

aspects of social causes and linguistic processes appear to be

universal and what aspects are language particular?



The second central objective is to examine the ecological

consequences of language loss and cultural disruption. What are

the effects on individuals, communities, and society as a whole?

What are the policy implications of this worldwide and rapidly

accelerating phenomenon? What kinds of information and resources

can be provided to members of the wider community and those

concerned with questions of policy?



**The deadline for receipt of abstracts is January 31, 1995.**

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words. The abstract itself must

have a title. Include with the abstract -- and separated from it

by at least three lines -- your full name, mailing address,

telephone number(s), e-mail address, and the paper title.

Abstracts may be submitted by regular mail, FAX, or electronic

mail.



Selection of papers will be made by anonymous review of

abstracts. Submitters will be advised of the acceptance of their

abstracts by February 28, 1995.



In order to make papers available to other participants in

advance of the Symposium, presenters will be asked to submit pre-

publication versions of their papers by May 15, 1995. Publication

of the proceedings is planned. Publishable versions of the papers

will be due at the Symposium.



Abstracts and requests for additional information should be

directed to:



Garland D. Bills

Department of Linguistics Telephone: (505) 277-7416 or -0324

University of New Mexico FAX: (505) 277-6355

Albuquerque, NM 87131-1196 E-mail: gbills[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]unm.edu

USA



Symposium Organizing Committee:

Garland D. Bills

Eduardo Herna'ndez Cha'vez

Alan Hudson