ISLE 6: Sixth International Conference of the International Society for the Linguistics of English Joensuu, Finland, June 3-6, 2020

ISLE 6 will be hosted by the University of Eastern Finland, School of Humanities in Joensuu. The dates are 3–6 June, 2020. The conference theme is Evolving English and the digital era.

Digitalization is undoubtedly one of the great revolutions in human history. Technologization and digitalization make it possible that massive amounts of linguistic data, past and present, are available through various channels. These data can be combined, annotated, mined and visualized using high-powered computing. For several decades, English linguistics has been at the forefront of this revolution in the humanities, as evinced for instance in the development and use of digital corpora and in the quantitative turn in the field. While we recognize these past achievements, ISLE 6 seeks to assess the impact of digitalization in English linguistics and in the study of its varieties. We hope to be a venue for state-of-the-art presentations that highlight how digitalization can (or cannot) benefit the study of English linguistics and how it could help us understand its past and present and possibly predict its future paths.

The following plenary speakers have kindly confirmed their participation:

• Kate Burridge (Monash University): Truthiness and the English language — popular perception and fall-out
• Bruno Gonçalves (ISI Foundation): A spatio-temporal approach to linguistic studies through social media
• Jack Grieve (University of Birmingham): Lexical change in Modern English
• Terttu Nevalainen (University of Helsinki): 1066 and all that – a meta-analytic approach to Middle English

We plan to start the conference with thematic workshops on Wednesday 3 June, 2020. This first day is followed by two and a half days of papers, work-in-progress reports, and posters. The social program will give you a chance to explore the city of Joensuu and the beautiful nature of the region.

Call for papers

We now welcome proposals pertaining to the conference theme, and to any field of linguistic enquiry provided they deal with the English language.

1. Workshops

We are happy to announce that the following workshops will take place on Wednesday, 3 June, 2020:

• English linguistics in everyday life: Tips and tricks for achieving societal impact (convenor: Karen Corrigan)
• Imparting knowledge: Workshop on the teaching of English linguistics (Kristin Bech)
• Lesser-known varieties of English on social media (Jakob Leimgruber, Sven Leuckert, Sofia Rüdiger)
• The march of data: English linguistics across disciplinary borders (Jukka Tyrkkö, Steven Coats, Veronika Laippala)
• Studying children and adolescents in World Englishes: Rethinking paradigms and approaches (Thorsten Brato, Sarah Buschfeld, Mirjam Schmalz)
• Rethinking English modal constructions: From feature-based paradigms to usage-based probabilistic representations (Ilse Depraetere, Bert Cappelle, Martin Hilpert)

For more information on the workshops, please visit https://www.uef.fi/web/isle6/pre-conference-workshops. Please note that workshop abstract submission is handled by the workshop organizers.

2. Individual Papers and Posters

We invite abstracts for individual papers and posters. Full paper presentations will be 30 minutes, including 10 minutes for discussion. Posters will be presented during a special session, and will remain on display for the duration of the conference.

Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words (excluding references), and should clearly state research questions, approach, method, data and (expected) results. The abstract must remain fully anonymous - please make sure that your files do not include your name in the document properties either.

Abstracts must be submitted via the EasyChair online system; to access the system, please follow the link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=isle6. Please refer to the conference website (www.uef.fi/isle6) for further guidelines.

The deadline for submission of paper and poster abstracts is 31 October, 2019. Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously, and notifications of acceptance sent out by mid-January 2020.

Please note that ISLE membership is a prerequisite for participation at the conference. You can find out more about ISLE and how to join at ISLE membership here: www.isle-linguistics.org.

Please visit the conference website at www.uef.fi/isle6, or contact us via isle6@uef.fi.

We look forward to hosting you in Joensuu in 2020!

Local organizing committee

Mikko Laitinen, Markku Filppula, Izabela Czerniak, Samuli Kaislaniemi, Lea Meriläinen, Heli Paulasto, Paula Rautionaho (conference secretary)