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CALL FOR PAPERS

Following four highly successful earlier conferences—Sheffield (2003), Ragusa (2006), Toronto (2009), and Leiden (2013)—the next Conference on Prescriptivism will be hosted in Park City, Utah by the BYU Linguistics and English Language Department, from 21 to 23 June 2017. The theme of this iteration of the conference confronts the question of value directly: Value(s) and Language Prescriptivism.

The value of prescriptivism has been contested for over a century, and the legacy of those contests have left a challenge for studying prescriptivism: how and how much should it be studied? Four previous conferences in this series have demonstrated the value of studying prescriptivism, as scholars from a variety of language traditions and approaches have garnered valuable insights on prescriptivism and standardization in language.

Questions of value permeate the study of prescriptivism. Prescriptive attitudes and practices abound in languages around the world, but what value does prescriptivism bring to those languages and what value is there in studying it? How do the values of those who study, promote, or oppose prescriptivism affect the language and the discipline? We invite papers addressing the value(s) of language prescriptivism, which may include:

  • the value of studying prescriptivism
  • the value of prescriptivism to society
  • the value of specific mechanisms used for prescriptivism
  • the values of those who promote or oppose prescriptivism
  • other ways in which value(s) and prescriptivism intersect

We also invite papers on any aspect of prescriptivism, such as language planning, language ideology, prescriptivism in history, prescriptivism and pedagogy, prescriptivism and nationalism, mechanisms of prescriptivism, and prescriptivism within standardization.

Abstracts of 500 words or less (excluding references) should be submitted through EasyAbs by 1 March 2017 (with notification by 15 April 2017) through the following URL: http://linguistlist.org/easyabs/preconf2016.