 | IAFL15: THE FIFTHTEENTH CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC LINGUISTS Aston University BIRMINGHAM, UK, July 5-9, 2021 |
| Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iafl2021 |
| First Call For Papers Submission Deadline | 2nd October 2020 |
| Second Call For Papers Submission Deadline | 29th January 2021 |
The 15th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL) will be hosted by the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL), Aston University, Birmingham, UK from Monday 5th to Friday 9th of July, 2021.
Academic sessions will run Monday to Thursday – with optional social / cultural trips for delegates and any accompanying family to run on Friday 9th July.
It is important to note that we are running two calls for papers. The due date of the first early call will be 2nd Oct 2020 abstracts received before this date will receive decisions by the 2nd November to allow delegates ample time to apply for visas. The second standard call due date will be 8th January 2021 and decisions will be returned on 5th February 2021.
Our review process is such that we will ensure there is no advantage or disadvantage in terms of which call you choose to answer. All abstracts will be assessed by reviewers on their merits.
CoVid19 Update
As of the summer of 2020 our working assumption is that this will run as a traditional in-person conference. Submitting an abstract in no way commits you financially. As the global situation with regard to the COVID19 pandemic develops over the next months we will keep all options under review.
List of Topics
The 15th IAFL conference will be a forum for the discussion of all aspects of forensic linguistics and language and law. We welcome proposals for individual papers, posters and panels on, but not limited to, the following topics:
Legal discourse:
(Language of the law, The history of legal languages; Legal genres; Critical approaches to legal languages.)
Language and the legal process:
(Courtroom, police and prison discourse; Investigative interviewing; Power and the law; Interviews with vulnerable; Language and disadvantage; Interpreting and translating in legal contexts; Bilingual courtrooms; Legal interpreting & translation.)
Investigative linguistics and language evidence:
(Authorship analysis; Forensic stylistics; Speaker identification; Plagiarism; Trademark disputes; Consumer product warnings; Deception and fraud.)
Language and cybercrime:
(Online identities and communication; Online sexual grooming; Online language crimes (e.g.: hate crime, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, online deception and fraud.))
Education and training:
(Language education for law professionals; School-based program for language awareness; Readability/comprehensibility of legal documents.)
Forensic phonetics and speaker identification:
(Transcription and translation of covert recordings; Forensic voice comparison.)
Submission Guidelines
All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper categories are welcome:
Individual papers:
Abstracts for regular papers by one or more authors should be up to 250 words long (excluding references) and should be submitted via EasyChair. Presentations will be 20 minutes, with a further 10 minutes allowed for questions.
Poster presentation:
Proposals for posters should be up to 250 words long and should be submitted via EasyChair. Posters should be of A0 size (841mm x 1189mm) in portrait orientation. Posters may be accepted for research projects (e.g. student dissertations) where no data has yet been collected.
Panels:
Outlines for panels should be no more than 500 words long and should be submitted via EasyChair. The outline should include an indication of participants and a brief description of their contribution. The panels will be scheduled for 2-hour blocks, with a maximum of two linked sessions.
All abstracts will be reviewed by the scientific committee and the decision for the first call for papers (and decision letters suitable for visa applications) will be emailed to the participants by 2nd November 2020.
Call for papers:
Abstract submission deadlines
First call - 2nd October 2020
Decisions released – 2nd November 2020
Second call - 10th January 2021
Decisions released – 29th January 2021
Fees
|
Early bird rate – before 1st March 2021 |
|
|
Student IAFL members |
£300 |
|
IAFL members: |
£345 |
|
Non-members: |
£405 |
|
Student non members |
£360 |
|
Late bird rate |
|
|
Student IAFL members |
£365 |
|
IAFL members |
£390 |
|
Non-members |
£450 |
|
Student non members |
£405 |
IAFL membership can be purchased independently on the IAFL website here: https://www.iafl.org/join/
Visa requirements
To see if you need a visa and how to apply, please visit https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa for further information.
Please be aware that visa rules may be subject to change in a post-Brexit environment.
About the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL)
AIFL is a substantial expansion of the former Centre for Forensic Linguistics that was founded in 2008. The expansion was funded via a £6M investment including a £5.4M award from Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund. The aim of the Institute is to improve the delivery of justice through the analysis of language. We combine world-leading research and practice with teaching and training in forensic linguistics and forensic speech science.
Aston University is known for its world-class teaching and research and a graduate employment record that is amongst the best in the UK. It boasts strong links with industry, government and the local community. Aston was ranked 34th out of 131 UK universities in the 2020 Complete University Guide.
The University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities are based in an attractive, self-contained green campus within Birmingham city centre. Birmingham is Britain’s second largest city with all the expected amenities that entails. All conference events will be held on campus and with on-campus accommodation and many further accommodation choices within walking distance, delegates won’t incur traveling costs once they arrive at the venue.
The excellent conference facilities are run by Conference Aston, a dedicated unit working closely with conference organisers to ensure an optimal delegate experience. The purpose-built meeting rooms and lecture theatres can accommodate up to 650 people. All offer natural daylight, ergonomically designed furniture and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment operated by on-site technicians. Free WIFI is available throughout the building and username and password will be provided on the day of the conference.
Travelling to and from the venue
The conference will be held at Aston University, Aston St, Birmingham B4 7ET which is a twenty-minute walk from the Birmingham New Street train station and centre of the city.
Birmingham has excellent air links with major European and world hubs. Birmingham International Airport, situated only 9 miles from the Aston University campus, is one of the country’s busiest and serves over 100 major international destinations. There are direct flights to Birmingham from Asia, Australia and North America.
Delegates choosing to fly into other major British airports should find getting to Birmingham very easy. The city has very good train connections with the rest of the country. Trains from London, for example, depart every half an hour from London Euston station and the journey to Birmingham New Street station takes about 90 minutes.
Further details on maps and direction are available here.
For visitors with disabilities or additional needs, there are services available across the university and the conference venue to help facilitate mobility. Disabled car parking is also available at various locations. For further information please visit: https://www2.aston.ac.uk/about/directions/accessibility
Accommodation
Accommodation is not included in the registration fee, but you may find the information below useful:
If you prefer to stay on campus and close to the conference venue, you can use the University-run accommodations such as Conference Aston Hotel, which is within the same building as the conference venue.
There are several off campus accommodations, ranging from family-run bed-and-breakfasts to five-star chain hotels in close proximity of Aston Campus. One of the best ways to explore your options would be via booking.com.
If you are after more affordable accommodation options in the centre of the Birmingham, you can check out Airbnb, Travelodge, Ibis Birmingham and Holiday Express.
Tourist amenities
As Britain’s second largest city, Birmingham offers a great variety of tourist attractions. Birmingham is famous for its iconic history and culture, lots of great museums and art galleries you can visit for free and excellent food and drink from different parts of the world. The city is also known for its shopping centres such as the Bullring, with its extraordinary Selfridges building, which is one of Europe's biggest shopping centres.
A further chance for the delegates to socialise in a more relaxed environment could be a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare’s birthplace and a town of numerous grade-A listed buildings.
The city is also within easy reach of the Snowdonia National park, the peak district and the Cotswolds – all designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Further information about things to do in Birmingham can be found here.
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to forensiclinguistics@aston.ac.uk.