Date: 15-Oct-2020 – 17-Oct-2020
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Contact Person: David Mora-Marín

Linguistic Field(s): Writing Systems

Call Deadline: 15-Apr-2020

Meeting Description:

On the systematic nature of writing systems
13th International Workshop on Writing Systems and Literacy
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

Continuing to bring together researchers from diverse research backgrounds and from various countries, the Association of Written Language and Literacy’s thirteenth gathering (AWLL13) will be the first to be hosted in the USA at the University of North Carolina.

Moreover, maintaining the core focus of AWLL workshops on understanding writing systems, AWLL13’s theme seeks to explore a set of fundamental interrelated questions about the processes of codification and standardization that writing systems undergo and whether it is ultimately justifiable to regard natural writing systems as being systematic in nature. Accordingly, abstract submissions that address some of the following research issues, for example, will be particularly welcome:

– Do existing typologies of writing systems sufficiently elucidate the systematic relationships that mediate between linguistic units and graphematic representations?
– What are the factors that influence, both positively and negatively, orthographic systemization? Is systemization driven primarily by external forces, such as script adoption, or by internal motivations, such as codification and standardization?
– Can attempts at orthography reform by central authority stakeholders be effective and, if so, with what implications for programs of literacy acquisition?
– Do the orthographic and grammatical properties of typologically different writing systems interface systematically with the cognitive factors involved in the acquisition of spelling and writing?
– Has technology, in its diverse forms, from printing, digitization, to Unicode and emoji, contributed to systematization or does it foster diversity in the era of digital communication?

Extending over 3 days, AWLL13’s programme of approximately 2.5 days will include two invited-speaker presentations, a themed symposium on the ”Writing Systems of the Americas”, AWLL’s business meeting, a number of oral presentations sessions and two poster sessions, and will conclude with a panel discussion.

Invited Speakers:

Peter T. Daniels (independent researcher, USA)
Min Wang (University of Maryland, USA)

Local organizer:

David Mora-Marín (University of North Carolina, USA)

Program committee:

Lynne Cahill (University of Sussex, UK), Terry Joyce (Tama University, Japan), David Mora-Marín
(University of North Carolina, USA), Dorit Ravid (University of Tel Aviv, Israel)

Further information:

If you have any queries regarding the conference,
please contact the local organizer, David Mora-Marín (davidmmunc.edu).
For queries regarding AWLL,
please contact Terry Joyce (terrytama.ac.jp).
AWLL website: http://faculty-sgs.tama.ac.jp/terry/awll/index.html
AWLL13 information http://faculty-sgs.tama.ac.jp/terry/awll/workshops.html

Call for Papers:

Abstract Submission:

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted as a PDF attachment to the local organizer(davidmmunc.edu) by 15 April 2020. Please indicate whether you would prefer to be considered for an oral session (30 mins inclusive of Q&A time) or a poster session.

Details about registering for workshop participants (for both presenters and non-presenters) will be distributed as soon as possible after acceptance notifications have been sent. Similarly, the workshop programme, with abstracts, will be circulated as soon as possible in advance.

Important Dates:

First call for papers: Mid-November 2019
Second call for papers: Mid-February 2020

Submission deadline: 15 April 2020
Notification of acceptance: 31 May 2020
Workshop dates: 15-17 October 2020