Vocative!
Vocatives are classified either in purely formal terms (vocative case) as part of the ‘language system’, or as functional structures manifesting themselves in ‘language use’ only. Although languages differ in terms of usage conditions and availability of morphological marking, vocatives are amongst the most basic and also most early acquired structures of language. While the focus of research clearly lies on languages with morphologically marked vocative, syntactic (non-)integration, pragmatic factors, and the emergence and decline of vocative forms are among the less studied aspects.
The aim of the international workshop ‘Vocative!’ is to bring together researcher from various linguistic disciplines in order to come to a more detailed picture of this structure between ‘system’ and ‘performance’ on a cross-linguistic basis. We invite contributions from all theoretical approaches, both synchronic and diachronic.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Morphology: (asymmetrical) marking of structures
- Syntax: position, integration, internal structure
- Phonology
- Grammaticalisation and obsolescence
- Diachrony: ‘old’ and ‘new’ vocatives
- Pragmatics: conditions of usage
- Typology: distribution
- Medium and genre
- Vocative particles
- Language acquisition
Invited speakers
Prof. Dr. Christian Stetter (RWTH Aachen)
Prof. Dr. Helmut Pape (University of Bamberg)
Abstracts
Abstracts are invited for a 30 minute presentation followed by a 10-minute question period. One-page (including references and examples) anonymous abstracts in both .doc and .pdf format (times new roman, 12p) should be sent to Vocative2010(at)gmx.net .
Important dates
Submission deadline: 15 June 2010
Notification of acceptance: 15 July 2010
Registration deadline: 15 November 2010
Workshop: 10-11 December 2010
Location
University of Bamberg
Organising committee
Patrizia Noel, Barbara Sonnenhauser, Olga Dioubina-Reubold and Ludmila Klara
Contact
Conference Email: Vocative2010(at)gmx.net