CFP: New Ways of Analyzing Variation @ Georgetown Univ., USA

New Ways of Analyzing Variation returns to its birthplace – Georgetown University! This special anniversary conference, hosted by the Georgetown University Linguistics Department, will take place October 27-30, 2011. 

All sociolinguists are interested in language variation. Some of us are counting and some of us are not, but all of us count. NWAV 40 aims to celebrate the quantitative, qualitative and eclectic approaches to the study of language variation and change that have given us so much insight over the decades, and to encourage further research from a wide range of perspectives, thereby further deepening our understanding of how language reflects and shapes personal identities, interpersonal interactions, group memberships, and social orders.

Call for Papers: 

NWAV 40 welcomes submissions for papers, posters, organized panels, and workshops on all scientific approaches to analyzing and interpreting language variation and change, including papers that combine perspectives to enrich our understandings. 


Abstract Submission Deadline: July 1, 2011 at 5 p.m. EDT 

Abstracts must be submitted through the conference website, available in late May. Please direct all inquiries to nwav40gmail.com. 

PAPERS will be 20 minutes each, with a 10-minute question-and-answer period. Abstracts should not exceed 500 words, excluding title and references. Authors may submit one singly- authored and one jointly-authored paper abstract, or two jointly-authored paper abstracts. Paper abstracts will be subjected to blind review, so author names should not appear anywhere on abstracts. Authors may elect to have their paper abstracts considered for either a paper or poster presentation. 

POSTERS will be presented 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 29, in connection with a reception. Posters are typically a good format for presentations where visual display of tables, graphs, maps, etc. is particularly important. Abstracts for posters should not exceed 500 words, excluding title and references. Poster abstracts will be subjected to blind review, so author names should not appear anywhere on abstracts. Authors may elect to have their poster abstracts considered for either a poster or paper presentation. 

PANELS will last 120 minutes and should consist of presentations and discussion of thematically coherent issues. Panelists are strongly encouraged to follow the regular paper schedule. Double panels will be considered. Panel proposals should consist of (1) the panel title, names and affiliations of panel organizers, and a general description of the panel not exceeding 500 words that highlights the panel's theme and importance; (2) the proposed timetable of presentations/discussions; and (3), for each paper, the title, name and affiliation of author(s), and an abstract not to exceed 300 words. The panel organizer is responsible for writing the panel proposal and gathering abstracts from each presenter. 

WORKSHOPS will last 120 minutes and are designed to introduce attendees to novel methods, analytical approaches, and theoretical frameworks for examining and understanding language variation and change. Workshop proposals should consist of the workshop title, names and affiliations of workshop organizers, a general description not to exceed 500 words of the aims and content of the workshop, and a proposed schedule. If workshops will consist of a series of presentations, also submit the title, name and affiliation of presenter(s), and an abstract not exceeding 300 words for each contribution. 

NWAV40 Organizing Committee: 

Natalie Schilling 
Robert Podesva 
Julie Sweetland 
Sakiko Kajino (NWAV40 Coordinator) 

nwav40gmail.com