Tick tock! Tick tock! The wait is over! We are pleased to announce the 6th edition of VocUM, which will take place at the Carrefour des arts et des sciences of the Université de Montréal (Québec, Canada) on November 14 and 15, 2019. VocUM is an annual international conference organized by students of the Université de Montréal, all from different fields of study relating to language. It is the only multidisciplinary conference dedicated to language in Montréal.
In keeping with the times, the theme for VocUM 2019 is… Language and time. Though essential, time has always been difficult to define. Archeological artefacts resembling lunar calendars suggest that humans were already measuring time as early as the Paleolithic. The first solar calendars appeared in antiquity, namely in Egypt. During the Enlightenment, Isaac Newton’s Principia (1687) includes time, considered as absolute, in the core concepts of classical mechanics, alongside speed, inertia, and force. Finally, in 1905, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity revolutionized our conception of time, revealing the inextricable link it shares with space. Involved as it is in some of the most fundamental physical laws, time inescapably influences the universe and, consequently, humanity. Language, the ultimate human faculty, is similarly constrained by time.
VocUM 2019 thus urges us to reflect upon the interaction between language and time: time within language and conversely language in time. To do so, VocUM is happy to welcome multiple research perspectives, in which time plays diverse roles. Contributions can examine the ways in which different languages express time or the diachronic variation of given linguistic phenomena, at a small or large scale. The lens of history can also be particularly productive, as it allows us to situate in time various oral, signed or written language practises: history of languages, of translation, of interpreting, of writing, of the book, of literatures, of theatre, etc. Literary or cinematographic works in which time constitutes a central them can also be considered. Experimental approaches can likewise be relevant to the theme, whether they explore variations in linguistic expression according to age, speech pathologies manifesting at different stages of development or the effects of aging on language production. Similarly, natural language’s inherent sequentiality, and that of its various processes, de facto entails a temporal dimension.
The theme can namely, though not exclusively, be addressed from the following disciplinary perspectives:
| Ancient languages |
Linguistics |
| Applied linguistics |
Literatures |
| Automatic language processing |
Minority languages |
| Communication |
Modern languages |
| Comparative literature |
Neurolinguistics |
| Computer science |
Philosophy of language |
| Didactics |
Phonetics |
| Discourse analysis |
Pragmatics |
| Ethnolinguistics |
Psycholinguistics |
| Forensic linguistics |
Sociolinguistics |
| Hermeneutics |
Sociology |
| History of language |
Specialized translation |
| History of languages |
Speech-language pathology |
| L1/L2/Ln Acquisition |
Terminology |
| Language disorders |
Terminotics |
| Language pedagogy |
Translation |
| Lexicography |
Translation history |
| Language planning |
Translation policy |
Submissions in French and English are welcomed. That being said, VocUM encourages the use of French in order to resist the current trend toward English hegemony in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Similarly, contributors working in the fields of Spanish and German studies can present their research in Spanish or German, respectively.
Important dates
Conference: November 14 and 15, 2019
For more information: http://vocum.ca, info@vocum.ca
To register
https://vocum.ca/en/vocum-2019-language-and-time/vocum-2019-registration/
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