Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Call for Papers
iMean 5 Conference
University of the West of England, Bristol
6- 8 April 2017 (with pre-conference Workshops on 5 April)
Abstract submission deadline: 5 January 2017.

The fifth iMean conference maintains its traditional focus on meaning in social interaction, with a thematic orientation to Language and Change. We will be considering changes at the linguistic level but also how changes at a societal level affect linguistic usage and our conceptions and analysis of it. Our increasingly interconnected and fast-moving world has led to an upsurge in mobility and to the possibility of greater variation and change in language use. The linguistically diverse nature of contemporary societies has implications for social justice, with potentially differential access to the public sphere. Different contexts of use and new media may also bring new styles and manners of expression. As society changes, so must our conceptual and epistemological models and old questions and concepts require new approaches and angles.

The conference welcomes papers which focus on Language and Change, on norms and/or shifts in language usage and, more generally, on theoretical and methodological developments in research on sociopragmatics. iMean5 aims to  take a critical approach to current conceptions of ‘language and change’, focused around (but not restricted to) the following themes: ·the impact of globalisation, population mobility, the growth of cities and multiethnolects and the interrelation of  language choice, language use and social justice; ·how identities (regional, class, gender, ethnic and so on) are constructed and negotiated in and through language and how these shift from one community to another;·theory/ method aiming to forge new understandings of social class and gender identities in the 21^st century and how we incorporate these in linguistic research; ·language change at phonological, syntactic, semantic or discourse levels of analysis;·the impact of new media on linguistic use. Invited plenary speakers (confirmed):
• Gisle Andersen, University of Bergen
• Christine Béal, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3
• Jenny Cheshire, Queen Mary, University of London
• Michael Haugh, University of Queensland
• Barbara Johnstone, Carnegie Mellon University
• Zuraidah Mohd Don, University of Malaya

In line with the iMean tradition, the conference aims to encourage multidisciplinary thinking and to create new pathways in linguistic research. The conference will, as usual, include two specialist Colloquia, an Atelier AFLS and a summative Round Table at which the keynote speakers are invited to debate the conference theme.
Invited Colloquia
iMean 5 will host two invited colloquia.
1.     Language migration and change
Convened by Jo Angouri
2.     “Just how sorry are you, mate?” Norms and Variations in im/polite language behaviour.
Convened by Kate Beeching and James Murphy

Further details will be announced by the end of October 2016 or soon after.  Atelier AFLS
Participants who would like to present in French or present specifically French data are invited to join the Atelier AFLS which will take place as part of the conference.

Round table: What’s new in Language and Change?

Submission Details:
Panel Proposals: Panel proposals are invited by 1 December 2016. Decisions about panels will be made by 15 December. Panel organisers should oversee abstracts from panel members, with up to 6 papers in a panel (2 X 90 minute slots). Individual panel members should submit abstracts, clearly marked with Panel names, to the main conference email address by 5 January 2017 as below. All abstracts (in panels and the main conference) will be subject to double blind review as always. For information on panel proposals please contact the organisers (J.Angouri[at]warwick.ac.uk and Kate.Beeching[at]uwe.ac.uk).

Individual Papers: Abstracts of no more than 350 words (max and including references, if absolutely necessary) are invited. They should be submitted to https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=imean2017.The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 5 January 2017. Abstracts should not include the name and affiliation of the author(s). If your submission is part of a Panel, or the Atelier AFLS, or you would like to propose your paper as part of one of the Colloquia, please state this clearly at the top of your submission. Further details will be published on the iMean website soon.  In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact Kate.Beeching[at]uwe.ac.uk or J.Angouri[at]warwick.ac.uk for further information.