Posted on behalf of Remco Knooihuizen and Nanna Haug Hilton (U.Groningen); questions to them, please (Remco's e-mail address is below).  Thanks!

Damien

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MULTILINGUALISM: THE KEY DEBATES
Leeuwarden, 12-13 September 2013

We can give you more information about the conference 'Multilingualism: The Key Debates' which will be held in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, on 12 and 13 September 2013. The conference is organised to mark the start of the new MA programme in Multilingualism at the University of Groningen and University Campus Fryslân.

THE KEY DEBATES
An important part of the conference are four plenary debates (in lieu of plenary lectures) between leading linguists on topics relevant to the overarching theme of multilingualism. We can confirm the following topics and debaters:
- "Does learning a new language change the way we think?" with Geoff Pullum and Guillaume Thierry
- "Is language an innate property of humans, or is it something acquired?" with Daniel Everett and Ian Roberts
- "Is it possible to reverse the trend when a speaker group has started to language shift?" with Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and Sue Wright
- "How can language policy ensure the maintenance of linguistic diversity?" with Robert Phillipson and Abram de Swaan
The debates are held late afternoon and early evening. Admission is free for everyone, conference participant or not.

MULTILINGUALISM CONFERENCE
The conference itself will have three parallel sessions, offering a range of topics such as language policy and planning, multilingual acquisition and processing, language education and contact-induced change. A full programme is available from the conference website at http://conferencemultilingualism.stendenmeetingu.com/

CULTURAL EVENTS
On the evening of Thursday 12 September there will be a cultural programme for conference participants and the general audience. There will be film, theatre, music, installation art, and a guided tour in the Tresoar museum (www.tresoar.nl) surrounding the theme of multilingualism. 

VENUE
The conference and key debates will take place in "De Harmonie" theatre, Ruiterskwartier 4 in Leeuwarden. The theatre is located a 5-10 minute walk away from Leeuwarden train station. 

REGISTRATION
Registration is possible through the conference website, and is available until 9 September. The conference fee covers the conference and key debates, coffee and lunch on both days, and admission to all events in the cultural programme.

MORE INFORMATION
For more information about transport and accommodation, please see the conference website. For other questions you can contact us at [log in to unmask]


We gratefully acknowledge grants from the Province of Fryslân, the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and Språkåret 2013 (Norway), which have made this event possible.


We hope to see you in Leeuwarden in September.



The Organising Committee,

Dr Nanna Haug Hilton
Dr Remco Knooihuizen
Prof Goffe Jensma
Dr Hanneke Loerts
Louisa Vahtrick
Lineke Bakker

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Dr Remco Knooihuizen
Lecturer, English Language & Linguistics

University of Groningen
Harmonie Building, 1315.0237
Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26
9712 EK  Groningen
The Netherlands

PO Box 716
9700 AS  Groningen
The Netherlands

[log in to unmask] 
+31 503 635 835

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