Dear Colleagues,

Institute of English at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, has the pleasure to announce the 5th international conference titled Various Dimensions of Contrastive Studies (V-DOCS 2019). The conference aims at focusing on a variety of possible approaches to contrasting languages. Once again we want to welcome academics who represent various methodologies and perspectives on linguistic analysis: formal, functional, cognitive-semantic, pragmatic, and cultural.

This year’s leading theme is:

Language Contact

Today’s global village offers almost endless possibilities for language encounters that cause both language and thought patterns to clash, merge, and change. With contemporary means of mass communication and worldwide travel opening more paths for language contact than ever before, it becomes necessary to acknowledge the fact that languages and language varieties happen to interact and influence each other, thus changing the linguistic landscape as we know it.

Given the abovementioned, the purpose of this conference is to encourage debate on various dimensions of cross-linguistic influence and hence advance current research on language contact.

 

Thus, the list of suggested topics for the conference presentations may include, although will not be limited to, the following issues:

·      language contact

·      language typology

·      language dissemination

·      bilingualism

·      multilingualism

·      language transfer

·      language acquisition, processing, and production

·      lingua franca

·      diglossia

·      synchronic and diachronic approaches

·      mutual and non-mutual influence

·      language shift

·      language convergence

·      linguistic hegemony

·      phonetic, morphological, grammatical, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic changes resultant from language contact

·      borrowings and calques

·      linguistic gaps

·      code-switching

·      pidgins and creoles

·      translingual phenomena

·      mixed languages

·      dialectal change

·      cultural and sub-cultural change

·      instances, causes, and effects of language contact in discourse and culture

·      cognitive semantics and pragmatics of language contrasts

·      sociolinguistics

 

Each presenter will be given 30 minutes (20 minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion). The conference language is English.

 

We are pleased to announce that the following speakers have expressed their agreement to present plenary lectures during the conference:

 

prof. Sebastian Fedden (The New Sorbonne University, Paris)

More information: https://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/membres/fedden_en.htm

 

prof. zw. dr hab. Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk

(State University of Applied Sciences in Konin)

More information: http://www.pwsz.konin.edu.pl/userfiles/files/IN_PWSZ/Pracownicy/BLewandowska-Tomaszczyk.pdf

 

dr hab. prof. UP Alicja Witalisz (Pedagogical University of Cracow)

More information:

http://neofilologia.up.krakow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AWitalisz13112017.pdf

 

prof. dr hab. Andrzej Łyda (University of Silesia, Katowice)

More information: http://www.ija.us.edu.pl/index.php/pracownicy/7-lyda-andrzej

 

 

 

Important dates:

Abstract submission: 30 April 2019

Confirmation of acceptance: 15 June 2019

Early bird payment: 31 July 2019

Regular payment: 15 September 2019

Conference: 21-22 October 2019

 

Abstract submission:

Abstracts describing the topic of a presentation in up to 300 words should be sent to vdocs2019@gmail.com no later than 30 April 2019.

 

Conference venue and fee:

The conference will be organized in the hotel “Diament” in the town of Ustroń, a beautiful mountain resort in the Beskidy Mountains: http://www.diamentustron.pl/en/

 

The all-inclusive fee is:

- 800 zł / 200 Euro (for a twin room) OR 1000 zł / 250 Euro (for a single room) (early-bird payment)

- 900 zł / 230 Euro (for a twin room) OR 1100 zł / 280 Euro (for a single room) (regular payment)

The fee covers:

-      2 nights in the hotel in a twin/single room

-      meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner plus coffee service during the conference)

-      a special conference dinner on Monday 21 October

-      conference materials

-      the costs of publishing a post-conference monograph